FEATURE
Into the Wild with Shiro Tsujimura
Once in a lifetime you come across an artist with as much charisma as they have exceptional, natural born talent. Where the beauty in their artmaking belies tradition, where the purity of their creations flow from a lack of formal artistic training, where every detail across each artwork is perfectly imperfect.
Meet internationally renowned artist, Shiro Tsujimura, one of Japan’s leading ceramic artists.
Appointed to interview Shiro Tsujimura for his first ever commission with the Aman Residence Tokyo, it was clear from the moment our team arrived at Tsujimura’s studio in the mountains of Nara, that while his creative and artistic personality was anything but conventional, his mountain – an extraordinary site which laid bare to his home, his studio, his teahouse and multiple thatched dwellings – held the key to each of his creations.
As a film crew, we arrived with an agenda. To interview, to film Tsujimura creating an ink on Washi Paper artwork, to wrap.
Tsujimura had other plans.
A true master, we trailed as the apprentice to his studio unsure of how the morning would transpire. Almost immediately we observed and watched in awe as he created an oversized paintbrush from overgrown reeds surrounding the studio space. Fascinated, we watched on as a 300-year-old-statue that had turned to rubble mid-earthquake, was liquefied to ink, while the floor was laced with Washi Paper ready for its inscription.
With camera’s poised, it was go time.
With each masterful stroke, Tsujimura created what would become a key commission in the Aman Residence Tokyo, for installation in 2023. Derived from nature’s beauty, and positioned to represent a restful, immersive recess for mental and physical reinvigoration, observing this Washi Paper piece come to life at the established creative hands of Tsujimura, was equal parts incredible and inspirational.
“Shall we now interview?” the team queried.
“We shall eat,” Tsujimura informed through the translator.
To be warmly welcomed into anyone’s home is a truly beautiful experience. To be warmly welcomed into Shiro Tsujimura’s home, to be cooked for and to break bread with this true artist was a once in a lifetime moment.
To be warmly welcomed into anyone’s home is a truly beautiful experience. To be warmly welcomed into Shiro Tsujimura’s home, to be cooked for and to break bread with this true artist was a once in a lifetime moment.
Over a humbling lunch, an ensuing matcha tea ceremony, a wonderful interview, and a dynamic dinner, what became apparent was that everything on Tsujimura’s property – including the surrounding walls of his humble cottage, the plates we ate from and the cups we drank from – was crafted from Tsujimura’s hands and the earth found on his property.
One of the greatest ceramic artists in Japan, Tsujimura is a perfectionist in his art and recognizes his obsession with achieving his goals. He works the clay, he fires it, and lets it mature and age with the passing of time. Indeed, at the time of our meeting, Tsujimura had utilised over 300 tonne of clay throughout the course of his career. Whether throwing clay or utilising an ink based medium he creates his own style and his own independent techniques, always linked, however, to the traditions of the past.
While the beauty of his works speak for themselves, Tsujimura believes that he controls 50 percent of any creative process (the remaining 50 per cent belongs to you and how you perceive his creations). To see his creations firsthand, it’s understandable that his work populates the collections of many museums throughout the world, and now the Aman Tokyo Residence.