Shokunin and Devotion

Shokunin and Devotion by Sachiko Matsuyama.

Through our discussions, we tried to identify some of the unique elements of a shokunin’s life and mentality that are manifested in their work.

Selfless surrender after earnest effort

One who is obedient to nature receives the blessings of nature. When the craft lacks this inevitability, so does it lack strength and beauty. Rich qualities seen in folk craft are gifts from nature. When we see the beauty in them, we hear nature speak. ― Sōetsu Yanagi

Devotion over a lifetime, and over a millennium

What makes the work of a shokunin different from that of an artist, is that such one-time creations are really the result of endless repetitions of splitting, planing and so on. It is not just from practice of my own lifetime, but from the experience handed down to me from my ancestors in a perpetual line of accumulated wisdom from ancient times. － Shuji Nakagawa

Beyond the notion of individualism

The shokunin exist as shokunin because others exist in community with them. At Asahi-yaki where I belong, there are six other shokunin. Although I can do my work all by myself, it is, after all Asahi-yaki pottery as a whole that carries on the techniques and wisdom from the past. I think shokunin are kind of people that care about what “WE” make, instead of what “I” make. – Hōsai Matsubayashi