Morita Toushichi (Toushiti) 900K
Born in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1946.
After dropping out of Musashino Art University in 1966, he studied oil painting at Taiheiyo Art Association and went to the United States. After that, he was selected at the Taiheiyo Art Exhibition. In 1971 he returned to Hagi. He begins his pottery in the Hagi traditional kiln.
In 1974, he opened the Kara Shichi kiln. Since then, he has been active mainly in solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka, Matsue, etc.
After studying oil painting at Musashino Art University and Taiheiyo Art School, he trained at a kiln in Hagi City for three years. It was in 1974 that he had a kiln at his parents' home.
It took two months to build a kiln with his own hands, saying that "pottery is a game of kiln firing", and "because there is a method of firing suitable for glaze", he said that he repeated research on temperature and time.
"At the beginning, there were only failures." His expression, which reminds us of the hardships of his time, is like confidence over a big wall.
Regarding the charm of pottery, he says that "three-dimensional modeling is interesting", and he is also working on objects while making custom-made pottery for everyday use. His motifs range from natural objects such as stones and trees to clothing and tools found in everyday life.
"I had an object in my head from the beginning when I chose this path." His creativity, which mainly depicts imaginary landscapes in his oil paintings, is attracting attention in the world of ceramic art, where he seeks objects from objects and draws attention to his unique works of Kara Shichi, which burns a unique sensibility.
In April 2004, he held a solo exhibition in Shanghai, China, where he exhibited tea bowls, flowers, and jars. This exhibition, which was positioned as a Japan-China exchange, was attended by Chinese potters, art leaders, and calligraphers. "It was made possible by the efforts of acquaintances, but at the same time as making Hagi ware known to the authentic people of ceramics, the atmosphere in which young people are trying to grow was very inspiring."
His favorite word is "Isshouisshun, Isshouisshun" left by Yasuo Kazuki, a painter from Misumi Town.
Fukuan Morita Kara Shichi Kiln
2621-1 Sanmikawachi, Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture 759-3721
TEL: 0838-27-0675
Hagi-yaki is the essence of the tea ceremony, which was called "Ichiraku Nihagi San Karatsu" or "Ichiido Nihagi San Karatsu" among the ancient tea ceremony. It is one of the most concrete works of "Wabi-Sabi", which is also the reason why it is highly evaluated in the sea, which is unrivaled by other ceramics.
One of the characteristics of Hagi-yaki is "Kannyu". Penetration is a crack on the glaze surface that is relatively common in pottery such as Hagi-yaki. This crack occurs due to the difference in expansion coefficient and reduction between the base material, the glaze, and the glaze during the kiln removal and cooling after the kiln removal.
In Japan, these cracks are not considered a drawback, but rather a kind of pattern or landscape that characterizes the pottery. Since ancient times, not all Hagi ware is intrusive, but with or without intrusiveness, it greatly affects color development and texture.
The softness of Hagi-yaki can be felt not only in the atmosphere but also in the actual texture and mouthfeel, and because of its low thermal conductivity, it has high heat retention and even if hot tea is added, the bowl itself becomes too hot. One of the favorable features is that there is no such thing.
It is often referred to as "Hagi's Seven changes". This means that as you use Hagi ware for many years, tea and sake will soak into the base from the cracks in the glaze, and the color of the surface of the ware will change over time to increase the taste.
