Tobe Yaki (Tobe Pottery) has never been introduced to the UK or elsewhere in Europe, though the production of Tobe Yaki started more than 230 years ago. The town of Tobe is located on the outskirts of Matsuyama City in Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Tobe Yaki emerged from the work of local Sueki earthenware makers, which started in the Kofun period of the 6th-7th centuries and continued right up to the Edo period.


Tobe Yaki features indigo blue GOSU patterns on a milky white surface. It is somewhat thicker than ordinary porcelain, and correspondingly stronger. It is known as ¡ÆMarriage of Beauty and Function¡Ç, making it a favourite for daily use especially in the southern part of Japan.


In the creation of Tobe Yaki, which is hand-formed and hand-painted, there is not one process carried out without a craftsman¡Çs hands. There is an expression in Japanese, ¡ÈTE kara TE e uke tsugareru gijutsu¡É, which literally means ¡Èskills passed from one¡Çs hand to another¡Çs¡É. In other words, the skills of the master craftsmen are passed on from generation to generation using the hands.


The theme of the exhibition ¡ÆTE¡Ç (hand) is inspired by this tradition which has been kept and developed by generations of artists in Tobe. Most of us tend to regard the latest technology as the most reliable. Tobe artists are aware of the usefulness of technology but they simply prefer what they can do with their hands.

There was a time when the wave of modernisation nearly took over Tobe¡Çs TE Shigoto (handwork). However, thanks to the visiting craft masters such as Bernard Leach and Kenkichi Tomimoto, who praised Tobe¡Çs tradition, Tobe artists managed to survive the crisis and to preserve their artistry.

Tobe Yaki is, in essence, handmade. At the exhibition, every work is the Tobe artists¡Ç expression of how they engage with ¡ÆTE¡Ç in their artistic creativity.