The process of making the custom made Tokoname Bonsai pot Vol.1

I visit the Tokoname bonsai potter, Hidemi Kataoka/Shuuhou's  workshop  on the 16th May.
One of my purposes of this visit was taking videos in his work.

Now I will show you the process of making an unglazed Tokoname bonsai pot.
It is a custom made pot ordered from our customer in US.

The first step is the making of a plate with potter's wheel.

We accept custom-made ordering. Visit our store YUKIMONO. 
Thank you!

Let's walk the bonsai pot town,Tokoname

Last Saturday I went to Tokoname to visit the bonsai potter, Hidemi Kataoka's workshop.
Tokoname is recognized as one of the six ancient kilns of Japan, with a ceramic history which spans over a thousand years.
The main ceramic productions are/were pipes, tiles, tea pots, and of course BONSAI POTS.

Thought I was Tokoname several times on a business trip, I have never enjoyed the sightseeing.
This time I could hit some sights that were very Tokoname.

This is the very Tokoname view,the black walls of houses and factories.To keep termites, the walls are burned and painted with a tar to preserve the wood.  

An chimney of old kiln closed.

My most favorite view of Tokoname. Just like a bonsai. A tree growing to that size on top of a kiln chimney.  

The ceramic pipes were one of a main products of Tokoname.

The bonsai potter Hidemi Kataoka / Shuuhou

There are many molds in Hidemi's wokshop.

Visit YUKIMONO store, and you can see many Hidemi Kataoka/Shuuhou bonsai pots.
Thank you!

Focusing on the Display Style of Bonsai

There are some Japanese traditional displaying styles of bonsai.
If you visit any bonsai exhibitions, you would see some of them.

Tokokazari, displaying in the Japanese alcove 'Tokonoma' is a well-known style.
It is created with a main bonsai, an accent bonsai and a scroll. A small desk or a wooded plate is placed under the bonsai.

The aim of Tokokazari is to present the magnificent scenery with two or three (a main bonsai, an accent bonsai and a scroll) in Tokonoma.

The other displaying style is called Sekikazari. It is created with a main and accent bonsai, a carpet and a screen in the Japanese-style room.

Tanakazari is for the Shohin-bonsai that is less than 20cm in height from the bottom of the pot to the top of the plant. Tanakazari is created with five different materials including bonsai and a small displaying shelf.

The displaying with a quince bonsai and a scroll at Takao-Komagino garden park on April 2015

 Though generally they are called 'traditional displaying-style,' according to some documents it was Meiji era, they were established as the decoration way of bonsai. Nowadays the house with tokonoma as well as the Japanese-style rooms are on the decrease in Japan.

I think now is the time that we should create some new displaying or appreciating style of bonsai.
I expect overseas bonsai enthusiasts to find something their own authentic and unique styles, but it seems that they admire Tokokazari much more than Japanese people in general.

This is what I displayed with a maple, dear and the Kintsugi plate I did. 

Thank you!

Come to see me. I am in here, yukimono.com 



      

Make your small Japanese Garden!

At present I have about 50 bonsai on 3 wooden 4-tier plant stands in my garden.

Every morning I enjoy seeing how my plants have grown while watering them. In the evening I bring some of my favorite bonsai into the house and put them on a table in the living room, the side desk in the kitchen and the shelf in the washroom.

I like displaying and appreciating my little trees every day. Next morning, I take back them to the shelves outdoor.

As long as you have only a bonsai and some small plants with beautiful pots, you will be able to make your own small Japanese garden.

March, 2014

March, 2015 

April, 2015

Thank you!
From the owner of YUKIMONO