More than two years have passed since the earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture. As time passes, reports reporting on the current situation in Ishikawa have gradually decreased, but the scars remain. Following on from last year, works by lacquerware and ceramic artists from the prefecture who continue to create in such harsh conditions are once again decorating the sixth floor of Seiko House. This is the second time the exhibition has been held, "Ishikawa Crafts: Lacquer and Ceramics." Each piece embodies the indomitable spirit of "craftsmanship" of the artists who have continued to work sincerely on their art despite adversity.

Things are finally starting to calm down a bit.

"I hope that you will sense a ray of rebirth and hope in the works that breathe the warmth of the local climate and people," says ceramic artist Yukio Yoshida in the exhibition leaflet. This is his second consecutive participation in the exhibition.

"Although it cannot compare to the devastation in Suzu and Wajima, pottery production in my hometown of Kaga was severely damaged. My workshop also suffered considerable damage. For a time, it was difficult to make anything, but things are finally starting to calm down."

Yoshida explains, "According to Yoshida, some young artists have been newly added to this exhibition. One of them is lacquer artist Nakamuro Soichiro."

A still image that looks like a moving image. Aiming for such decoration ──Lacquer artist Nakamuro Soichiro──

Goldfish with swaying tails look as if they are about to swim away. A tree frog appears from nowhere and before you know it, clings to you. Mandarin ducks drifting harmoniously on the water's surface. Nakamuro's works feature meticulously drawn creatures enjoying life to the fullest.

"The next movement of the creature. The movement pops into your mind and becomes visible. I hope that you can sense the movement as if it were a video, even though it is a still image."

Although he often uses photographs and other illustrations as reference when sketching living creatures, he actually tried keeping goldfish as pets.

"When I looked at the aquarium, I found the movements of the goldfish, especially the swaying of their tail fins, fascinating, and I wanted to express that as a scene from a video."

Nakamuro's vision has come to fruition in a beautiful way. The three goldfish appear to be peeking out from the water's surface, depicted in maki-e, with their plump heads pointing towards the viewer.

A playful and story-telling painting

"When you think about lacquerware from a practical standpoint, it's easier to use when it's undecorated, and in a sense, that's the best. But since we're going to decorate it, it's more fun to add a bit of entertainment, or to use a playful spirit, and create pictures that tell a story. That's what I think about when I approach lacquerware."

Nakamuro has loved drawing more than anything since he was a child.

"I happened to be born into a lacquer family, so I paint on lacquer, but if I wasn't, I think I would have painted on something," says Nakamuro. The Nakamuro family runs Wajima-ya Zennin, a long-established company that manufactures and sells Wajima lacquerware for over 200 years.

The "Nurishi's House," a renovated old house built by Wajimaya Zennin, which uses lacquer on furniture and furnishings, was completely burned down, and the company's headquarters workshop, store, and warehouse also suffered major damage.

"The damage to Wajima's lacquerware industry was enormous, but it is slowly recovering. Young artists are also working hard, so please keep an eye on Wajima in the future."

The vibrant creatures depicted by Nakamuro are also waiting for the town of Wajima to be revived.

The technique of "Kinran-de-saishiki" arrived at through the pursuit of color and gold leaf ──Ceramics, Yoshida Yukio──

Purple, green, yellow, pink... Each color is rather soft and gentle. The soft, watercolor-like colors gradually gain weight as they are layered together, creating a profound sound reminiscent of medieval frescoes.

The gold that sparkles depending on the light brings a sense of majesty to the accumulation of abstract colors. However, rather than being Western-style, the pottery is clad in a mysterious color that somehow evokes a Japanese feeling. This is the work of Yoshida Yukio.

Yoshida is the fourth generation owner of Kinzangama, a 120-year-old Kutani ware overglaze workshop. Born into Kinzangama, which developed as a workshop for overglaze enamel painting known as Kinrande, Yoshida has relentlessly pursued color and gold leaf. One of the fruits of this pursuit is the creation of Colored Kinrande.

"I have been thinking about how to apply color to pottery for a long time. For this piece, I used a total of six colors and fired it eight times. So it took a very long time. At first, I layered colors on top of each other and fired it, and I wondered what color it would be when it came out of the kiln. It was a constant process of trial and error. And how to express the gold leaf that is a characteristic of Kinzangama Kiln was also a process of trial and error."

Yoshida's father, the third-generation Yoshida Minori, explored the technique of "Yurikinsai," which involves applying a transparent glaze over gold leaf, and has been recognized as a holder of an intangible cultural property (Living National Treasure). However, simply inheriting this technique would have prevented the kiln from developing further. With this in mind, Yoshida arrived at the technique of "Colored Kinrande," which uses the Kinrande technique unique to Kinzangama while giving it a modern interpretation.

Digital technology helps with the image of the painting, but the production process is still human

Yoshida's work is filled with geometric straight lines, giving it a modern feel. These straight lines are created and help create the image of the painting using "Tomonami," a system currently being developed in collaboration with researchers at Sony CSL.

"Even though it's digital, it only creates an image for the painting. It's many times faster than if I were doing it myself, and it proposes a large number of images, but it's ultimately me who actually puts my hands to work based on the images proposed by the digital system. As the firing process continues, I often add colors that differ from the digital image. The production process, where people make decisions and create, remains the same as it was in the past. I think it's important to apply technology without losing the meaning of the craft."

Yoshida continues to consider how to apply technology in ways that do not lose the meaning of craftsmanship, while incorporating unique digital expressions into the traditional techniques that the kiln has cherished. In recent years, as AI has begun to encroach on the field of art, Yoshida's relationship with technology, which does not use generative AI, offers many suggestions for craftspeople.

In addition to the two artists we spoke to, the following seven artists are exhibiting their works in this exhibition.

[Ceramics] Yukika Shibata, Masahito Tajima, and Yukifumi Tada

[Lacquerware] Katsuhiko Urade, Yoshimitsu Tanaka, Saki Mizuguchi, and Seiho Mizujiri

In addition, works by the following artists will be on display as special exhibits:

[Ceramics] Yoshida Yoshinori and Nakata Kazuo

[Lacquerware] Fumio Mae, Kunie Komori, Katsuhiro Nishi

◆Art exploration diary ~ Exhibition information

2nd Ishikawa Crafts: Lacquer and Ceramics

Date: January 2026, 1 (Thursday) - January 29, 2026 (Sunday)

Time: 11:00 – 19:00 until 17:00 on the last day