I'm not so sure that I want to tell you about this wonderful Mino potter who's having an exhibition in Tokyo next week. It's like spreading the word about your favorite restaurant, and you can never seem to get a reservation thereafter.

The fact is, this Mino potter has been around for decades. He could have ridden a wave of accolades and prestigious titles, since he studied with renowned Mino potter and Living National Treasure Toyozo Arakawa (1894-1985) for 13 years, ending his apprenticeship in 1968. He just hasn't been interested in promoting himself in big department store exhibitions or in joining any associations; he's like a sennin (mountain aesthete) distancing himself from the world and focusing on his art.

More than his sterling resume, though, it's his work that shines. It's not the kind of work that dazzles like a fireworks display and as quickly disappears. Quite the contrary: It seduces one's senses on a very subtle, wabi-sabi level that one will never grow tired of and will only cherish more as time passes, like a good friend.