美濃桃山陶の聖地・可児

荒川豊蔵 ARAKAWA Toyozō

桃山陶と随縁
　荒川豊蔵（あらかわとよぞう）は、明治27年（1894）に岐阜県多治見市で誕生しました。多治見市は、古くから窯業の盛んな土地として知られています。豊蔵の生家も農業の傍ら、陶石の粉砕を副業としていました。窯業に携わる親戚も多く、やきものと密接な環境で生まれ育ちます。
　昭和5年（1930）4月11日、豊蔵は、「日本の陶磁史を覆す大発見」といわれる志野筍絵の陶片を発見します。その後、久々利大萱の牟田洞に居宅を構え、志野や瀬戸黒などの復興に尽力しました。その結果、昭和30年に、重要無形文化財保持者（いわゆる人間国宝）に認定され、さらに昭和46年には文化勲章を受章するとともに、文化功労者として顕彰されました。

志野再興と豊蔵志野
　「志野」は、約400年前の16世紀末頃の安土桃山時代に美濃地方の東部で生まれたやきものです。信長や秀吉が茶の湯を政治に利用したことにより、陶器が政治に色濃く影響を与えた時期でした。茶の湯の流行とともに、千利休や古田織部といった茶頭の働きにより、桃山陶などの国産品が好まれるとともに、色や形など今までにはない多様な陶器が生み出されました。そのため、日本の陶磁史上最も華やいだ時期と言われています。しかし、茶頭の交代や流行の変化により、わずか20年ほどで志野はその姿を消してしまいます。その後、長い間忘れ去られていた志野を現代に蘇らせたのが、豊蔵です。技法などは伝わっていなかったため、残された陶片や古陶器を収集し、手本としました。　豊蔵は、便利さや効率性ではなく、安土桃山時代の志野の制作工程を追及することが、志野再現への道筋であるべきと考えていたようです。そのため、陶片を発見した古窯の傍らに、窯や居宅、仕事場を構え、自然に寄り添うライフスタイルを生涯貫きました。
　そして、志野や瀬戸黒の再現だけにとどまらず、「豊蔵志野」と称される独自の造形美と色彩美を誇る作品を生み出しました。

『縁に随う』荒川豊蔵

ARAKAWA Toyozō ‘His Destiny to Pursue Momoyama-period Pottery’

ARAKAWA Toyozō was born in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture in 1894. Tajimi has a long history as a center for ceramics production and in addition to farming, Toyozō’s family were also employed in crushing china stone. Many of his relatives were involved in the ceramics industry and he was brought up in an environment with close connections to pottery.

On April 11, 1930 Toyozō made what has been described as, ‘a great discovery that overturned existing theories on Japanese ceramic history’, when he found a shard of Shino ware decorated with a bamboo shoot motif at the site of an ancient kiln in the Mino area. After that, he moved his home to Mutabora in Kukuri Ōgaya where he devoted himself to recreating Shino and Setoguro ware. As a result of his labors, he was designated a ‘Preserver of an Important Intangible Cultural Property’ (living national treasure) in 1955 and in 1971 he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit and recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit.

The Revival of Shino Ware and Toyozō Shino

Shino ware dates back approximately four hundred years to the end of the sixteenth century when it was produced in the eastern part of Mino Province. The great warlords of the time, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, employed the tea ceremony as a political tool and as a result, politics became influenced by pottery. The increase in popularity of the tea ceremony led to the appearance of great tea masters, such as SEN no Rikyū and FURUTA Oribe whose tastes for domestic ceramics, such as Momoyama-period pottery, etc., led to it becoming highly sought after and resulted in the development of objects in a variety in colors and shapes never seen before. For this reason, the period is recognized as being the most glorious in Japanese ceramics history. However, a new generation of tea masters and changes in fashion meant that Shino ware disappeared after a period of only twenty years. Subsequent to that it remained largely forgotten until the twentieth century when it was brought back to life by ARAKAWA Toyozō. No records describing its manufacturing process remained so he was left no alternative but to collect shards and old pots to use as his model.

Toyozō did not pursue convenience or efficiency, instead he strove to recreate the process by which Shino ware had been produced during the sixteenth century, considering this the best way in which to produce a true revival. His first step was to build a kiln, house and studio next to the site of an ancient kiln in which he had found shards of Shino ware, living close to nature for the rest of his life.

The result of his efforts was that in addition to recreating Shino ware and Setoguro ware, he also developed a new style that is known as ‘Toyozō Shino’, through which he demonstrated his unique mastery of beautiful form and color.

耶登能烏梅

志野筍絵陶片

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