Okuwa village has 55 ancient ruins of Jomon period (13,000 to 2,700 BC) and many shards of earthenware of 5,000 years ago and around had been excavated. Those tell us that the ancient inhabitants in the village made the huge amount of earthenware, which suggest they easily got good clay for earthenware. Restored potteries with those shards at the Okuwa village History and Folklore Museum make us imagine ancients’ activities.
Hiroshi Okuno, an earthenware artist, moved to Okuwa village in 2020 answering the call for the Okuwa village Community-Revitalizing Cooperator Squid to promote cultural and artistic activities in the village.
He learned earthenware in Japan then moved to Mexico, where he had devoted himself to the art of earthenware. Even though his business was successful in Mexico, he decided to move back to Japan considering the life of his family. Through his research of the place for a new life in Japan, Okuwa village caught his eye.
Okuwa village has a great potential of good clay for earthenware as the ancient ruins indicate. He though he can create unique earthenware characterized to the native something with the local clay.
With respect to his work, he said it is a kind of his essay or diary. He embodies a spiritual something comes up in his mind into earthenware. The figurine he calls a monster is exactly one of them. Once I know his story, I figure out the monster represents his playful mind.
In addition to the figurines, he creates earthenware for daily life. I love the bowl named Atera Blue. It resembles the blue color of deep water of the Atera River, which seems to purify food on the bowl. However, there is less chance to get it due to the limited number of production.
He bought an old folk house in the village, which he is remodeling as an atelier. The house is one of the biggest houses in the village.
The name of atelier is La Mora in Spanish, which means mulberry. The name of the village Okuwa means a large mulberry. So, he took La Mora from the name of the village. In addition, a leaf of mulberry as feed for silkworm is another source of the name. The family of the house he bought had engaged in sericulture when the house was built. Therefore the house was originally designed to keep huge amount of silkworms. So, I can say the large space that was originally filled with the leaves of mulberry as feed for the silkworms is being repurposed as his atelier. It means his atelier tightly ties to mulberry and the name of atelier La Mora makes sense.
The earthenware of 5,000 years ago and the sericulture are now history. Nothing about them appears in daily life but his activities as a squad member make the village inhabitants look back the history of the village. In other words, his activities are quite important to initiate reactivation of the village native culture and art.
He had an exhibition of his work called Okuwa-ware (Okuwa Yaki) in the Okuwa village History and Folklore Museum in July, 2022. For me, the exhibition hall looked like a kind of door to a wonderland. I noticed later that I just jumped in his essay world when I entered the hall. It was quite amazing.
The museum has a permanent exhibition of the earthenware of 5,000 years ago, in which the Eternal Smile is the most remarkable as a treasure of Nagano Prefecture. When I see it, I know the local clay bridges the ancient earthenware with his contemporary work.
I have a bowl he kindly gave me, on which I love to enjoy edible wild plants from mountains or vegetables from a field beside my house. During a meal, I feel like I’m going to slip back in 5,000 years ago with the bowl.
He revitalizes the local native art and the old folk house, which should really stimulate the village inhabitants.
We highly appreciate his effort.
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