Ceramic Artist Given Funds To Restore Quake-Hit Kiln; Suzuyaki Maker Vows To Foster Young Craftspeople

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:13 JST, November 29, 2024

SUZU, Ishikawa — Craftsman Takashi Shinohara, who makes traditional pottery called suzuyaki, received a donation of $25,000 (about ¥3.9 million) from a nonprofit organization to restore his studio, which was struck by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

Shinohara, 64, returned this month to Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, where his studio is located, after spending time at shelters in Nonoichi in the prefecture. Shinohara hopes to make use of the donation to rebuild his wood-fired kilns by next summer, and intends to share the kilns with young craftspeople.

Steve Beimel, cofounder of JapanCraft21, a Kyoto-based nonprofit organization that works to revitalize traditional Japanese crafts, visited Shinohara’s studio, called Yugegama, in Suzu and presented the artisan with a certificate representing the $25,000 donation. “I will be glad if you tell young craftspeople how to build kilns and techniques to fire kilns. Let’s hang on together,” Beimel said.

“Thank you very much. Restoring suzuyaki will lead to restoring Suzu,” said Shinohara. “It is my role and the source of my power to pass on [suzuyaki] to the next generation.”