japan

well, yesterday I was reminded that I had not made a link in here to my enormous collection of photos taken in Japan in July; most of them taken by Lucy. so here they are – http://www.soozwhippet.com/Japan/index.htm

and for a taste here is one of them, just to show you that japan is not all wabi-sabi

bad-taste.jpg

these are apparently racoons, and they are all over Shigaraki, from little ones to absolutely enormous ones. I expect they have something to do with bringing good luck. the cat with a raised paw, like the carved stone one in Kawai Kanjiro’s garden, is to welcome visitors. there is an older looking racoon figure in the small temple garden in Kyoto too.

3 Comments

  1. From what I can observe, I feel drawn to the stoniness of your ceramics along with a rusticity of the glaze finishes.
    By the way, the critters are Badgers not raccoons.

  2. I am a potter from New Mexico. I was Appreciating your forms and textures. The creatures featured in your statue photo are not racoons or badgers. They are Tanukis which is a primitive canine, perhaps the most ancient extant dog besides the bat eared fox.

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