The motif of this work is the flowers, birds, wind, and the moon found in the casual life of the Japanese countryside, and is inspired by the scenery that is gently present in the hand of a person.

I use red clay with a white base, then apply a blue color to the surface, and then scratch out the outlines with a bamboo ladle.

In this quiet process, my memories and the colors of the land sink in.

Growing up in Nagasaki, I naturally became familiar with Arita-yaki and Hasami-yaki porcelain.

And with the exotic air of the port city, I was also exposed to Delft ware pottery that came from Holland.

The “blue and white” porcelain that I have been accustomed to seeing since childhood is part of my original landscape.

I currently live in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, in an old house on a hilltop overlooking trees and rice paddies, where I encountered the warm clay and white makeup used in Kasama and Mashiko.

The “Temoto” series was created by overlaying my memories of “blue and white” on these local materials.

The blue color is not as glamorous or exquisite as that of dyed porcelain, but rather oozes with the warmth of the clay and the hands.

It is a nostalgic yet new reconstruction of my own “blue and white”.