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Exhibitions

Takashi Ichikawa
Tools for an imaginary people
Back to the starting point for the future

Aug 21, 2023 | Exhibitions 

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It has been a long time since I have fired a Yakishime ware.

I am referring to the earthenware (Haji) vessels that I used to bake in my early days. The clay is from Lake Biwa, whose shores have been slowly receding since ancient times. The soil, from the mountain where the ancient lake bed was raised, once kneaded, is left to rest. I plan to take about six days for the firing process.

 

Upon discovering the charm of tea, I started making tea utensils, earthenware bottles, furnaces, Chagurama (Tea wheels), Ochamochi (Tea boxes), and other tea items. While working with tea only gets more and more interesting, I have also made a variety of tableware.

 

So this time I will try to make vessels and utensils that show both my current point of view and my past experiences. In other words, I am thinking about the future, looking upward, while perhaps also circling back to my origin. For this exhibition, I would like to display objects that retain the quiet memory of clay, with all its primordial power, while keeping the flow of fantastical folklore intact.

 

Takashi Ichikawa

 

 

We are pleased to present Takashi Ichikawa’s exhibition, “Tools for an imaginary people Back to the starting point for the future”, at the Center for COSMIC WONDER. This exhibition, the seventh in a series, will present new tea ceremony utensils and earthenware made from clay from the mountains where the Lake Biwa bed was raised in Shiga, which is where Ichikawa lives. We are pleased to welcome Gendo Sawamura and Hina Sawamura, who are active in communicating the infinite power of wildflowers, for a workshop and tea ceremony featuring wildflowers.

We look forward to your visit.

 

 

Exhibition period:

September 16 – September 24, 2023 / Open throughout the exhibition period

16th and 17th are by appointment only.

 

*Reservations for visits on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 have been closed. From the 18th on, visitors may enter freely. Entry will be restricted during busy times.

 

Venue:

Center for COSMIC WONDER

5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo

T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866

Open noon – 6pm

 

 

Opening Event:

1. Workshop “Sora tea”

The purpose of this event is to transform the wildflowers at our feet through light, water, and fire.

Enjoy the stories of wild grasses told with the tea tools of Takashi Ichikawa and sweets of yoin, including a demonstration of the process of picking grasses for making Sora tea (a wild herbal tea concoction).

 

Saturday, September 16

noon – 2:30 pm

 

Sunday, September 17

noon – 2:30 pm

 

Reservation required

Fee: 15,000 JPY

 

2. Tea ceremony “Sora”

To free up the mind and body. To let the fragrance of the grass, the power of the earth, and the life of the field permeate the cells and spirit. Enjoy the stories of wild grasses, Sora tea (a wild herbal tea concoction), confectionery by yoin, and tea tools made by Takashi Ichikawa.

 

Saturday, September 16

4pm – 5:30 pm

 

Sunday, September 17

4pm – 5:30 pm

 

Reservation required

Fee: 13,000 JPY

 

*All the seats are booked.

 

yasousora / Gendou Sawamura and Hina Sawamura

Learning from grasses about how people and grasses can thrive together.

Based in Fukuoka, Japan, they are active in communicating the life energy of wild grasses through wild teas.

 

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