27 July 2008 Fine wine and pottery
So today we went to visit the Kamadas, old neighbors of ours whom I describe here. We usually go back and enjoy their company and incredible cooking every month or so, although tonight we went back for a special occasion. Their eldest son, Keisuke, turned 20, which is the age of majority in Japan, and to celebrate they opened a magnum of wine purchased about 10 years ago that was made in the same year as Keisuke was born.They invited us to come and enjoy it with them.
The wine itself, pictured below, was amazing. I have always enjoyed wine, but have never tasted the really nice stuff. Now I know what I’ve been missing. This 20-year Burgundy was easily better than anything else I’ve had. The only way I can describe it is that it was deep and complex without being heavy. It just went down incredibly smoothly, and if you wanted to pay attention to it you could, but it wasn’t overpowering. Now I can’t wait until their middle child turns 20 in a few years.
I’ve been meaning to take some more pictures of Kamada-san’s work, and this time I remembered to bring my camera and ZF100/2 macro lens. I still can’t get over the fact that, of all the potters in this pottery-loving country, the single one (literally) whose work I love best just happened to live next to me, and be a really nice guy who likes to invite me over, play with my children, and get me drunk with great wine and food. His work is very hard to capture, though, because so much of it is glossy and reflects light. The different metallic crystals are so beautiful, though, and have a fractal beauty that draws you in. By this I mean that you can appreciate the beauty of the glass at any number of scales, and there is complexity and beauty at each one, from viewed afar to the tiniest detail.
Works by Kamada Koji (鎌田幸二)
4 comments in “Fine wine and pottery”
July 27th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
That’s beautiful work and beautiful close up photography of the work. As a fine art student I took a ceramics class which covered hand-building pottery, throwing on a wheel, glazing and firing. I was a failure at all of it for the most part. (I didn’t put much effort in compared to others, to be honest) but I loved working with the clay.
When I visited Japan I was lucky enough to see some wonderful pottery and purchase some. I hope to do that again when I return. We definitely will be by the Kyoto area again some day, so hopefully see his work some time!
August 9th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Zachary,
You are indeed fortunate to have the Kamadas, not to mention Genbo and Zoe. The close up photos are incredibly beautiful.
Mom
August 9th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Zachary,
Your children are the most gorgeous, awesome things in the known universe. It’s true.
Mom
August 9th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Clearly Genbo got the don’t run for the train message, and came up with a better way to communicate it than whoever wrote the original sign.
How did he know he didn’t like “Green Eggs and Ham”. You loved it – I read it to you hundreds, no exaggeration, of times.
Mom