寝ずの命懸けで１年かけて器を焼き上げる日本の職人たち！第33話｜丹波篠山市「柴田雅章」
Without that lifestyle,, true craftsmanship can’t be sustained. That kind of lifestyle has disappeared for most people today. Heating the bath with firewood is part of my daily routine. Welcome home, Sacchan. I’ve built an unglazed kiln. (It takes) a whole year to finish a piece. This is what I want to make—this is what I like. All we can do is give it our all. Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture Day 1 of coverage – Kiln stacking work Potter
Shibata Masaaki (76) Mr.Shibata was born and raised in Tokyo. He fell in love with “Tamba ware” and moved to Tamba-Sasayama in his twenties. In 1975, he became independent and built a climbing kiln with his wife,
continuing his journey as a ceramic artist for 50 years. Mr.Shibata begins preparing for kiln stacking with his apprentice. They carry the vessels they have made so far to the front of the climbing kiln. Mr.Shibata）It takes a whole year just to get to this point. Mr.Shibata）What I did for a whole year As part of the pottery process, Filter the soil sift it and make it into usable clay. Then I dry the sifted clay to reach the right firmness. That kind of work, and meanwhile, I also process ash during the intervals. Filter it with water. After finely filtering it with water, I wash the lye out dozens of times. Then I mix it with other materials to make glaze. All those steps pile up, and in between I make the pieces. Using the wheel, or molds, there’s also the shaping process. That’s what I’ve been doing, and finally it reaches the bisque firing stage. Bisque firing, then glazing— that’s how we got here. There are so many steps involved. Mr.Shibata）Anyway, be careful.
Ms.Yuri）Yes. They begin the kiln stacking work. They install pillars (tsuku)
to support the shelves inside the climbing kiln. Mr.Shibata）Ms.Yuri, come over here. They sprinkle ash and stack the pottery. Ms.Yuri）To prevent sticking, we insert “rice husk ash” between the pieces. They prepare other types of pottery for kiln stacking. They scrape off the glaze
to prevent pieces from sticking during firing. Director）What are you doing now? Mr.Shibata）I’m peeling off the rim. These pieces tend to have glaze stuck on the rim. Then we fire them like this. The glaze melts and sticks during that process. To remove that, I’m doing what we call “peeling.” Honestly, this should’ve been finished yesterday. Mr.Shibata）This side, right now… We’re too busy, Grandpa and the others just can’t do it. Grandchild）No! Mr.Shibata）Then go run around the house.
Grandchild）No! Mr.Shibata gives advice to his apprentices as needed. Preparing for stacking the pottery on top of each other for firing. Mr.Shibata）The front part, please.
Ms.Yuri）Yes. They stack the pottery into the kiln one by one. They place the shelves. Mr.Shibata）Once the stacking is done, we move on to firing. So everything we’ve done so far— We load it all in over three days. We have to think carefully about where each piece will fire best. It’s like solving a puzzle. My head gets all tangled up. Preparing the next pieces to load into the kiln. Right now, we’re putting all the pieces
into the saggar in order. The temperature differs between the upper and lower sections of the kiln. The top part is definitely hotter. We place pieces that can withstand high temperatures— —on the top. The bottom part has a lower temperature, so we place pieces that can still be fired at low heat there. As we assemble them like that, in each chamber— This is now the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth row, right? That completes one vertical section. We keep fitting everything together like that
while adjusting as we go. Director）Why do you use this climbing kiln? Mr.Shibata）The climbing kiln, you see— In our case, overall— For example, I dig the clay myself
and make my own clay, right? Then, for the glaze— We also make our own ash
and use it to make the glaze. So with all that effort put in, the question becomes— How do we fire it in a way that brings out its full beauty? The only answer is the climbing kiln. If we fired it in a gas kiln, even after all that careful prep work— The final result would be dull and uninteresting. In the end, ceramics are called “yaki-mono” (fired things) for a reason— The firing is actually the most important part. The climbing kiln really is the best. It’s simply the best fit
for the kind of work I want to create. That’s what it ultimately comes down to. Another symbolic thing is— having this climbing kiln in the back of our workspace. It feels like it’s always watching over all of our work. The climbing kiln feels like the “boss” of the entire operation. That’s the image we have of it. Now it’s time for a short break. All）Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday to you ♪ Happy birthday dear Occhi (Ms.Yuri) All）Happy birthday to you ♪ Ms.Yuri）Thank you so much!! Mr.Shibata）Tomorrow is this person’s (my brother-in-law’s) birthday. Today happens to be the birthday of both Ms.Yuri and Mr.Shibata’s brother-in-law.
The whole family celebrates together. Ms.Yuri）Oh my, thank you—haha
Mr.Shibata）You got celebrated by a big group! Everyone enjoys fruit punch handmade by the Shibata family. Director）So this surprise was planned for today? Mr.Shibata）That’s right! All）Let’s eat! Mr.Shibata）How old did you turn? Ms.Yuri）Unfortunately, I’m already 32. Wife）So you’ve gone from 31 to 32 now. Mr.Shibata）How old is he (brother-in-law) turning? I don’t really want to say it, but… (laughs) He’s turning 70. Ms.Yuri）Wow, that’s amazing! Mr.Shibata）Seventy, huh? There are so many different processes in pottery. In winter, we use a wood-burning stove, and we prepare the ash from that. We heat the bath daily with cedarwood, and we save that ash too. Director）Is your craft integrated with your lifestyle?
Mr.Shibata）Yes, exactly. Mr.Shibata）Without that lifestyle, true craftsmanship can’t be sustained. Nowadays, that kind of life is disappearing for everyone, so the craft itself is drifting away from its roots. People buy materials from suppliers, even the glaze is store-bought. Humans have been making things that way for long Term, but I want to avoid drifting too far from the traditional way. from the traditional way. Thus ends the first day of our close-up coverage. Mr.Shibata）This is Mr. Peter. Mr.Takasumi）I think it was last October? He moved here. To Tamba-Sasayama. Mr.Peter）Mr.Shibata asked me to buy this house. Mr.Peter also helps with the kiln stacking work. Director）Is everything going smoothly so far?
Mr.Shibata）Yes, it is. Mr.Shibata）We were able to get started earlier than usual, so everything’s progressing smoothly. You see, there’s a space here in the front, right? Right here in the front. There’s a hole underneath, and that’s where we put the firewood. We insert the firewood from here. Then that firewood— —circulates around here and goes to the next chamber, right? The flames do. So we keep a path open for the flames to pass through. If we stack it too high, it becomes hard for the flames to circulate. Then while firing, we adjust things to balance the overall temperature— starting from the bottom, that’s where we fire first. Looks like Mr.Shibata’s grandchild is back from kindergarten. Mr.Shibata）Today, we focus on loading this area. We’ll stack all those pots over there into the kiln. Loading pottery into the third chamber from the bottom of the climbing kiln. Director）What did you just apply? It’s called “alumina.” It’s aluminum oxide powder—won’t melt or stick when fired. It doesn’t melt at all. So even if you place something on top of it, it won’t stick. Kiln stacking is now nearing completion. Director）Is this the last piece?
Mr.Shibata）Yes, this is the last one. I don’t think we can fit anything else. I’d like to load everything if possible, but… Director）Will everything turn out usable after firing? Mr.Shibata）I don’t know. I really don’t. They might all be ruined. Well, that’s unlikely, but still… It’s not like everything will be perfect. Some may be underfired. Some may crack during the process. Some might be ruined by falling debris from above. We’ll try our best to fire with the highest success rate possible. The rest is up to the kiln. All we can do is give it our best during the firing process. The final piece is placed into the kiln. Mr.Shibata）This here—this is it. It’s melted like this, see? Originally it stands upright. This is called number ten. It’s designed to melt at about 1300°C. We don’t use a thermometer here. This serves as our temperature indicator. So we place one here and another in the back. These are both number ten. Below them is space for number nine. Number 9 falls at about 1280 °C. So there’s a temperature gap between number 9 and number 10. At the Shibata Kiln, they don’t use thermometers—
they rely on pyrometric cones to read the temperature. Mr.Shibata）Alright, all done. Ms.Yuri）Great job!
Mr.Shibata）We’re finished. Kiln stacking is now fully completed. They start kneading the clay used
to seal the kiln door. Mr.Takasumi）This is for sealing the door— It’s the clay used to fill the brick joints. Now they begin the kiln door sealing process. First, they stack bricks to build a wall. They apply the prepared clay
onto the bricks. Mr.Shibata）You should save that one for last. Not the shallow one— the one with longer legs is better. Use it like this in that case. They also apply clay to the outside wall of the kiln
to enhance insulation. Mr.Takasumi）This part is designed to be opened and closed. This is where we insert the firewood. There’s a matching hole on the opposite side too. So we open both sides at once and toss in the firewood from both ends. Director）Sealing the kiln is kind of like a puzzle too, huh? Mr.Shibata）Yeah, exactly. Every time. Once you remove the bricks, everything gets jumbled. So every time it’s like solving a puzzle again. You just have to enjoy the process. Director）Can you open it again after firing? Mr.Shibata）Yes, you can open it afterward. You saw us sealing the joints, right? The ones we just sealed— If you use only soil, it becomes rock-hard. So we mix in a lot of sand. That makes it less sticky, and kind of crumbly. So when you open it, it crumbles away nicely. You won’t need to break through hardened soil. Mr.Shibata and the team take a short break. They enjoy homemade milk tea and
plum jelly from the Shibata family. Mr.Shibata）Let’s dig in. All）Itadakimasu! (Let’s eat!) Mr.Takasumi’s wife
Chinami-san (35) They soon return to work. Finally, they begin preparations
for lighting the climbing kiln. Mr.Peter says he’s going to fetch firewood by bike. Mr.Peter）Nope, not gonna happen! (laughs) In the end, he goes on foot to collect the firewood. Director）Do you carry a large amount?
Mr.Peter）Yes, quite a lot. Mr.Peter）About— four times this much, I think. Director）Four times *this*!? They transport the firewood using a cart. Director）Is that for the bath?
Mr.Shibata）Yes, for the bath. Director）With firewood?
Mr.Shibata）Exactly. Mr.Shibata）This is cedarwood. We use cedarwood firewood, and the ash becomes glaze. Cedar has relatively low iron content, so it tends to make clearer glaze. Firing the bath with wood is part of my daily routine. Mr.Shibata）Now that the kiln is fully loaded— we’re about to light the fire. The rest is up to the kiln. All we can do is ask for its help. We offer salt, washed rice, and sake in prayer. We pray to the kiln god. Preparing to light
the climbing kiln. Mr.Shibata）I’m lighting it now. Everyone joins in a prayer. Mr.Shibata）Alright, now it’ll be a good kiln. After the prayer, they sip salt and sake as part of the ritual. Ms.Kotani and her child from
Gansabo Tanba Kotori have arrived. Ms.Kotani is also
Mr.Shibata’s daughter. At Gansabo Tanba Kotori, where she is the owner,
they use Mr.Shibata’s pottery for their menu daily. The staff also receive
the purifying salt and sake. Mr.Shibata）From here, it’s all up to the kiln. Smoke from the climbing kiln
slowly rises from the chimney. Mr.Shibata）By tomorrow afternoon— you’ll see smoke rising in big bursts. Now it’s out of our hands. Just prayer now. All we can do is give it our all. They add more firewood
to increase the heat. Mr.Takasumi）Look, it’s glowing red hot here. That’s the heat rising from below. You can really feel the flames. It’s like it’s blowing outward. The front part looks a bit dark, the middle looks whitish, and the square saggar we loaded— they’re glowing bright red-hot. They keep feeding firewood into the kiln. They place bricks
to narrow the fire inlet. Grandchild）A demon came out! Mr.Shibata）A demon? Oh no, scary! Grandchild）Over there! Look—over there! Mr.Shibata）Oh, you’re right! Only over on that side. A demon came to Sacchan’s house. Director）What are you doing now? Mr.Takasumi）Just narrowing the inlet a bit. Mr.Shibata）When you narrow the opening— the same fire flows faster. When you load a lot at once, it catches fire in a burst. They watch the flame column to check left–right balance. The work continues on and on. Even though it’s getting dark,
they’ll keep feeding firewood through the night. They check the upper kiln section regularly as well. Mr.Peter’s wife. The couple work together to load the firewood. Everyone in the extended family helps with the firing. Chinese Cuisine Piman owner
Uchino Katashi (71) He played a big role in promoting the collaboration event
featuring Mr.Shibata’s pottery. He brought some refreshments for everyone. Special hors d’oeuvres
from Chinese restaurant Piman . Mr.Uchino leaves for work. Mr.Shibata）Alright, let’s go.
Mr.Takasumi）Okay. Director）Is it just repeating the same process?
Mr.Takasumi）Yeah, basically. Earlier, we were working on the lower part— but once chamber one was fully heated, we moved up to chamber one. Now we’ll fire chamber one properly. They feed wood from both sides. Everyone enjoys the hors d’oeuvres
brought by Mr.Uchino. Mr.Shibata）How many rounds has it been now? Ten rounds would be about five bundles. Then we stop and check how it’s going inside— and decide what to do next. The work continues
until dawn… The next day. Mr.Takasumi）We just finished chamber two. Now we move on to chamber three. Despite their exhaustion,
everyone pushes through toward the final stages. Director）No rest since yesterday?
Mr.Takasumi）Nope, none. Mr.Takasumi）On the last night, we’re all in. Director）All-nighter?
Mr.Takasumi）Exactly. Mr.Takasumi）We need at least two people on each side, so with support, it’s usually three or four people overnight. We can take turns resting on the first night, though. Mr.Peter made some coffee for everyone. During the overnight shift,
the coffee and sweets offer quiet comfort. Director）You’ve used up nearly all the firewood. How many bundles do you use at a time? Mr.Shibata）About 400 in total, if bundled. Director）400!?
Mr.Shibata）Yeah, probably about 400 bundles. Mr.Shibata）That’s around 4 tons total. Director）4 tons!?
Mr.Shibata）Yeah, most likely. A 2-ton truck can carry about 200 bundles. Mr.Shibata）Alright, we’re done. Mr.Shibata）We’ve finished firing. It’s fired! It’s fired. They return the remaining firewood to its original place. Mr.Takasumi）Good job, everyone.
Director）Good job! Mr.Takasumi）Now we let it cool for three days until unloading. We will wait. Let’s see how they turned out… Director）Exciting, isn’t it?
Mr.Takasumi）Yeah, it really is. Mr.Takasumi）We wait with excitement
and a little bit of nervousness. Today marks the final day of our coverage. Prepare mats to place the pottery on. Final day of coverage—
today they begin the kiln opening. They remove the bricks that sealed the kiln. Mr.Shibata）Peter’s here. Mr.Shibata）Good morning. Mr.Shibata）Here’s what it looks like. Mr.Shibata）Looks totally different, right?
Director）It really does! This is how it looks. They collect the sealing clay from the joints. Mr.Shibata）Looks good, right?
Mr.Takasumi）Yeah. Director）Does that mean it fired thoroughly?
Mr.Shibata）Yes, it does. The temperature reached about 1300°C. That’s our standard. They place the removed pottery
into baskets. Then they begin laying out the fired pieces. Mr.Shibata）Looks beautiful. Maybe a bit underfired. Mr.Shibata）Here.
Mr.Takasumi）If it’s underfired, should we set it aside? Mr.Shibata）This one’s perfect. Mr.Shibata）That’s a good one. They also line the pieces out
on the straw mats. Director）Is this a earthenware teapot?
Mr.Takasumi）Yes, it is. Mr.Takasumi）This one’s a teapot for brewing tea. Mr.Shibata）Looks kind of like an old lady though. Ms.Kotani comes to see the newly fired pottery. Director）Are there some pieces
you can use for rock tea? Ms.Kotani）I think the teapots for rock tea
will show up soon. Mr.Shibata polishes the finished pottery. Mr.Shibata）Plain white is really nice, too. Ms.Yuri）It’s beautiful.
Mr.Shibata）The inside, too. Director）So beautiful. Mr.Shibata）Like this.
Director）Absolutely lovely. Mr.Shibata）If this had fired just a little hotter— all this would have disappeared. It would’ve turned completely white. This one’s even more amazing—look! Mr.Shibata）You rarely get results like this. They take a short break. Enjoy the yokan using the newly made bowl. Kiln unloading resumes. Some pieces were broken. The spirit of Tamba soil lives on
in these powerful yet gentle pieces. Mr.Takasumi）Wake up, eat breakfast, get to work— Take a tea break at 10 a.m., have lunch, do a bit more work, and then another tea break at 3 p.m. It’s a quiet rhythm every day, nothing dramatic, but I really enjoy that time. Sometimes, new sensations are born in that rhythm, and they get reflected in the things I create. The time spent eating or drinking tea— that time is truly very important. If I could manage everything myself— I’d grow my own vegetables, even produce our own rice. If I could do that, I’d probably be even happier. But there’s a limit to what we can do by ourselves. They welcome the newly fired pieces
with auspicious seasonal foods. A special moment of gathering around the table. Ms.Kotani carefully selects
the pieces to be used in her shop. Ms.Kotani）They’d look cute with foxtail grass in them.
Mr.Shibata）That’s the image I had in mind. Ms.Kotani）Every single piece is different each time. It’s honestly overwhelming. Director）What is this piece used for? Ms.Kotani）This is for Yancha (rock tea). It’s called a “chahai.” This chahai and the teacups— These are the cups used to drink the tea. Director）So the pieces in your shop, were made by your father, right?
Ms.Kotani）Yes, that’s right. Ms.Kotani）At least in my case— I was born here in Tamba-Sasayama even before I discovered rock tea. I had these pieces around, and then I encountered rock tea. When people think of Chinese tea, they often imagine something completely different from this. But for me, this is what tea is—it’s how I met tea. And 95% of the tea ware we use is made by my father. Pottery from Tamba-Sasayama, Rock Tea from Wuyi Mountain, and water from Tamba-Sasayama— that creates a world that’s just mine, I think. I’m not saying it’s good or bad— but if I’m doing it, then that’s how I want to do it. Director）You’re doing a collaboration event on November 3rd, right? Ms.Kotani）Yes—Piman-san was the first to respond to Rock Tea. That was about 15 or 16 years ago. There’s someone called Roan Matsuda who specializes in Rock Tea. We’ll be collaborating again with Roan Matsuda-san this time. When he introduced us— he said he really loved the land of Tamba-Sasayama, and he wanted to hold the event here. That’s how the collaboration first began. It feels like we’re at full capacity. But everyone is excited and making reservations. I’m looking forward to it. And so the story leads to a one-day-only special collaboration
between Gansabo Kotori and Chinese cuisine Piman. Mr.Shibata says:
“Beauty is born from everyday life.” Each time firewood lights up in the quiet mountain village,
the accumulated time settles quietly into the pottery. In those pieces,
a timeless beauty lives and breathes. What took shape
was a memory of a way of life.
【柴田雅章さんについて】
東京出身。20代で兵庫・丹羽篠山に移住し、夫婦で登り窯を築く。
柳宗悦の「誰でも美しいものをつくれる」という言葉に導かれ、
50年にわたり“暮らしの中の器”を作り続けてきました。
民藝の精神を受け継ぎつつ、目指すのは現代の生活に息づく器。
器は暮らしそのものであり、生き方の表れ──
そんな思いとともに、今日も土に向き合います。
【チャプター】
0:00 ダイジェスト
0:30 本編
0:47 柴田さん紹介
1:54 器を作る工程について
3:06 窯詰め作業
3:53 器に灰を塗す理由
4:17 他の器の窯詰め準備
6:30 窯詰めについて
7:04 柴田さんの息子さん
7:44 登り窯を使用する理由
9:03 お弟子さんと義弟の誕生日祝い
10:48 暮らしについて
11:46 密着２日目
12:23 器の積み方について
13:10 本日の工程
15:40 焼き上がりについて
16:37 温度の目安にある道具について
18:09 戸閉めの土作り
20:27 薪をくべる穴について
21:56 休憩タイム
22:48 薪運び
24:02 柴田家のお風呂について
25:10 お祈りについて
25:36 点火
27:09 小谷さん親子登場
30:16 火の入り口を狭くする理由
33:22 内野さん登場
35:16 オードブルをいただく
36:31 夜明けまで続く作業
38:43 コーヒー休憩
39:16 薪の量について
41:09 密着最終日
41:39 窯開け作業開始
43:10 器のチェック
44:21 器を並べていく
47:34 窯開けした器の研磨
48:34 窯開けした器で羊羹をいただく
49:33 窯出し再開
51:21 生活について
52:15 柴田さんの器で皆で食事
53:15 小谷さんインタビュー
54:51 コラボイベントについて
製作：株式会社FOOD MEDIA JAPAN
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