Jan 08,2016
I aspire to make wares that are relaxed and sensual.
— Ito Kan
“At first, you find yourself reaching for Ito Kan’s wares because you’re struck by their beautiful shape,” says Natsutsubaki’s Eto Aya. “Then they become part of your everyday tableware because they’re not overheavy and they’re easy to use. They’re sleekly designed, yet at the same time they possess the soft contours of clay. I love that the wonderfully balanced combination of the two. They’re the kind of dishes you’ll want to use forever. You never tire of them.”
We asked Ito Kan himself about this.
“Some things I make on the whim of the moment, but in many cases I’ll actually use an item at home and keep making minor changes to it. I’m constantly thinking of ways to make things easier to use. I’ll often spend time adjusting the depth of the bowl, the flare of the rim, and the thickness and weight to get them closer to perfection. Take this dish, for instance. It’s for serving curry, and for eight years I’ve kept making minor changes to it. In this version, I’ve tweaked the angle of the rim, thinking of how it might go better with a spoon. It’s flared just enough that it catches your fingers. I think that results in a somewhat sharper appearance than before.”
Curry plates by Ito Kan. He has tweaked the design repeatedly. “Tableware should be easy to use without being too obvious about it,” he says. “It would be kind of embarrassing if it were too stylish. A dish is just right when it only dawns on you gradually how easy it is to use.”
So does Kan aspire to make ceramics that get plenty of everyday use rather than for show? We asked him, and here’s how he replied.
“Basically yes, though I also think it’s important that ceramics look attractive when used for decorative purposes. Do they have what it takes to create mood or ambience? Size is irrelevant in that regard. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a handleless tea mug or a tiny dish. Whatever I make, I try to make it beautiful as well as easy to use.”
This relentless insistence on beauty and ease of use is the reason why Kan’s creations are so loved by those who use them.
The “contact lens bowl” featured in this installment is part of a series that Kan launched at the request of a culinary expert who wanted a dish curved like a contact lens. It has a minimal foot to lend stability.
Kan made a Japanese rather than a Western-style teapot for this occasion with its Japanese theme. It takes skill and experience to make a teapot that is both beautifully shaped and easy to use, he notes.
“When I was at university, all I made was decorative objects. It was the golden age of decorative objects. I portrayed people’s faces as in totem poles. After graduating from university, all I made was legs below the knees, from the calves to the toes. The natural contours of the human body are a thing of beauty. The tone of the muscles, the bones they encase, the softness of fat. They’re beautiful whether a person is fat or thin. I became obsessed with making legs, whether the legs of the sumo wrestler Akebono or the legs of babies. The human body is my point of reference for depicting beauty and form even today. The experience I gained then serves me well now that I make pottery.
“Another key element is sensuality. One of the things that led me to abandon making decorative objects for the potter’s wheel was a week I spent assisting Nakazato Takashi of Karatsu. His work electrified me. It was the first time in my life that I found pottery sensual. The potter’s wheel is free and wild. It has no secrets to hide. It’s a pleasure to watch. Ever since, I’ve come to believe that being set in your ways kills the sensuality of a piece. Even now, a painting or a building or a culinary creation that looks sensual stirs something deep inside me.”
He concluded with an observation about his own output.
“My works used to be so delicate that people said they were afraid they would break. But since I became a father, they’ve taken on a greater thickness in a loose sort of way. Now my goal is to make pottery that seems wrapped in a mantle of air. Some things command attention, and they’re such a delight. At the same time, instead of churning out pieces that are all the same like they’re machine-made, I aspire to make wares that vary subtly, that are relaxed and sensual.”
After apprenticing at dining establishments in Japan and abroad, including a renowned Tokyo eatery and a natural foods restaurant, Muto Yasuyuki became chef at a French restaurant in the trendy Hiroo neighborhood of Tokyo. In 2009, he relocated to France, where he worked in Paris, Burgundy, and the Basque region. He returned to Japan in 2011. After working as sous-chef at a venerable French restaurant in another Tokyo neighborhood, Daikanyama, he became a certified JSA sommelier, further expanding his professional horizons.
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