Japanese ceramists often talk of the materials they use as having spirits and souls. A kiln, for instance, has its own kami, and the clay has a voice that if listened to carefully will reveal a shape that has lain dormant for centuries.
It is up to the potter to communicate with these elements and create pottery that is not merely a form, but an entity that shares a place in our homes and hearts. Not many potters have the sensitivity to "listen" carefully to the voice of the clay or the kiln; that takes years of experience, and only a few ever do.
Seimei Tsuji (b. 1927) has. This living legend of the Japanese ceramic world is having a long overdue exhibition in Tokyo (his last one was in 1982) at Shinjuku Isetan's eighth floor museum until April 13; "Sixty Years of Potting" is the theme.