Was it difficult for a man so prominent in Japan to become artistic apprentice to someone else?
In fact my family, my friends, everybody was quite shocked at my decision to study under a teacher. And my teacher is known as something of a wild man. For a year and a half, I had very intensive training from 6 in the morning to 7 at night, working at the wheel all day. In Japan, there’s a traditional apprenticeship of not being taught, but of just sitting next to the master at the wheel. You learn by observing, by feeling. My teacher would say only two things to me during that time, either ‘you fool’ or ‘throw that one away.’ My teacher was, in fact, 10 years younger than I. There are few teachers that much younger who would be able to look upon a man of my prominence and say things like that, for which I’m very grateful. If I had gone to most teachers, I would have been praised and coddled, and wouldn’t have reached the level of artistry that I have. Q: Are you concerned now about flattery of your work? A: Actually, no. I simply try to make better tea bowls and don’t take much accou
