FUJIWARA YU 藤原 雄 (1932- 2001)
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The famous Fujiwara family boasts two Liv-
ative of both the skill and experience of the
ing National Treasures in pottery. The first
potter.
designation was Fujiwara Kei (1899-1983), Yu’s father, in 1970. Fujiwara Yu followed in
Fujiwara Yu’s work showcases finely textured
his father’s footsteps by being designated in
surfaces characteristic of Bizen clay. His tex-
1996 for his contributions to the development
tures are a result of skillful employment of
of Bizen ware. As is obvious from the pieces
“goma ‘’, or natural ash glaze. Meanwhile, the
in the exhibition he was master of firing ef-
clay also boasts the Fujiwara family’s signa-
fects: the botamochi window on the tokku-
ture purple hue. The gradations from a dark
ri-shaped flower vase and the goma effects of
coffee brown to purple under the light creates
the ash on the necks and bodies of the other
a distinctive opalescent quality in Fujiwara’s
two pieces. These effects characterized Bizen
Bizen firing. The gentle subtleties in the Fuji-
ware from the 16th century onwards and are
wara clay exemplifies the canon of traditional
part of a small repertoire of firing effects that
Bizen decorative techniques.
the iron-containing, unglazed Bizen clay was capable of. To achieve these effects, given the long firing that Bizen ware requires, is indic-