In the Spring of 2011, following the massive earthquake, I created a Japanese flag design and sold them in support of the heavily damaged pottery town of Mashiko, Japan. Approximately 42 were sold, several people purchased more than one, others paid more than asked. We sent a check in the amount of $1,500.00 to the Tatsuzo fund, which was set up to aid the artists who work and live there. Thank you to all who participated!!
The pottery village of Mashiko, Japan occupies a charming slice of countryside a little more than an hour north and east of Tokyo. The town is known for a simple rustic style of pottery first made famous in the 1930’s by Shoji Hamada and later by his student, Tatsuzo Shimaoka, both of whom, before they passed away, were designated by the Japanese government as National Living Treasures.
Mashiko, unfortunately, also sits just 50 miles from what was the epicenter of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011 and 80 miles west of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The village suffered catastrophic damage. Until the earthquake, potters from all over the world came to this village to train in the Mashikoyaki style made famous by Hamada and Shimaoka, many of these artists lost everything but their lives and all lost their livelihoods. Of the 400 kilns in the village none survived unscathed, and most were damaged beyond repair.
The Tatsuzo relief fund was established in an effort to assist in getting the village back on its feet. With the revitalization of the kilns the artists of Mashiko will once again have the means to earn income and rebuild their town, this revitalization is literally taking place one brick at a time.
