07-25-09 Another day, another side of Sue pottery
Posted in Trip North on 10/02/2009 07:18 am by ScottWe’ve seen the big factories, and the small family shops. Today we got to see another, more artistic side of Sue pottery.
We visited the home/store/workshop of Jyunji Miura who is famous for his unique flower designs that he paints by hand on to all his pieces.
Mr. Miura is a really nice guy, he let us watch him paint a few cups and poke around his studio. We also met his wife who is really extraordinary. Since Mr. Miura has to paint such delicate pictures, his wife is responsible for all the heavy lifting around the house and in the studio. It’s her job to carry around the heavy clay and do all the mixing. His hands are too important to risk injury or callouses so she make up the difference. Strong lady!
Together they have built a very successful business. Some of his bigger vases sell for as much as $6,000.
We added to our streak of free stuff as well. Mr. Miura let us take home a couple of his cups as a gift. How nice are these people? We’ve gotten so much stuff!
Today was supposed to be our last day with the Itoh’s, but Mr. Itoh decided to call the local newspaper and have them interview us tomorrow. We thought he was joking, but he actually got on the phone and called them.
We will meet a reporter at a nearby Nakasendo town tomorrow afternoon. I hope she likes us!