Ohori Soma Ware is a traditional craft with a history spanning over 300 years in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture. The Ohori district was once a bustling 'pottery village,' a landscape dotted with over 20 kilns. However, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident forced the potters to abandon their hometown.

The kilns they had used for years, the tools they had carefully preserved, and their daily routines—everything was left behind in Ohori. In 2023, 12 years after the disaster, as evacuation orders were partially lifted, Manabu Kondo, the 9th-generation head of the Tokichiro-gama kiln, made the decision to return.

"I want to make this place a production hub for Ohori Soma Ware once again."

With this passion fueling him, Kondo is striving to rekindle a tradition on the brink of being extinguished.

Keeping Tradition Alive by Continuously Evolving

A powerful galloping horse, a lustrous bluish glaze, a fine network of blue crackles spreading across the surface, and a unique double-walled structure that keeps your hands cool even with hot tea inside. While cherished as an everyday item, Ohori Soma Ware possesses a distinctive presence that makes it instantly recognizable.

For many, these features are what come to mind when they hear the name Ohori Soma Ware. During the Showa period, it became a household staple, beloved by many, and also gained popularity as an export item.

However, Kondo explains that this is "merely one facet of Ohori Soma Ware."

From the Edo period to the present day, Ohori Soma Ware has kept its tradition burning by flexibly adapting its styles and forms to meet the lifestyles and demands of each era. That's precisely why Kondo asserts, "Tradition isn't about clinging to a single form."

A Boyhood Immersed in Nature and Baseball

In Kondo's childhood, Ohori was a vibrant town where potters and artisans worked from dawn to dusk, with a constant plume of smoke rising from the kilns.

"My dad, my mom, and all the artisans were busy from morning till night, so I guess they didn't have time to pay much attention to the kids. That's why I spent my days playing outdoors—going to the river, heading into the mountains. I was just always out in nature. The thought of taking over the business someday never even crossed my mind."

But his real passion was baseball. He devoted himself to the sport, aiming for the Koshien national tournament in high school and dreaming of going pro in college. After graduation, joining a corporate league team was one of his options, but he ultimately decided to take over the family kiln because, as he put it, "I didn't want to become a salaryman."

An Artist's Challenge: To Be More Than a "Souvenir"

While honing his technique, Kondo poured his energy into sales. He went from one department store to another, pitching Obori Soma-yaki. His goal was to have Obori Soma-yaki recognized as a high-quality craft. But a department store buyer bluntly told him, "We can't carry Soma-yaki in our stores because it's a souvenir from a tourist spot."

"A sense of alarm washed over me that if things went on like this, Obori Soma-yaki would be doomed to be nothing more than a 'souvenir,'" he recalls.

Obori Soma-yaki had soared to great success during the Showa era. But its very fame had typecast it as 'pottery for tourists.' So, while continuing to produce vessels as a 'kiln master,' Kondo also started carving out a path as an 'artist.' Fueled by a fierce desire to elevate the status of Obori Soma-yaki, he began submitting his work to juried exhibitions.

"As I wondered how I could change people's perceptions, I discovered the world of art exhibitions. Seeing the incredible work there, I was repeatedly humbled, thinking, 'Am I really this unskilled?'"

Despite facing repeated rejections and confronting his own inexperience, Kondo refused to give up. He continued to create vessels as a kiln master while relentlessly pursuing his own artistic expression. His perseverance eventually paid off. He earned two special selections at the Nitten Exhibition and won numerous other prestigious awards, including the NHK Chairman's Award and the Contemporary Craft Award at the "日本現代工芸美術展" (Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition). Kondo's work showcased the untapped potential of Obori Soma-yaki, shattering its conventional image.

A Vow Not to Turn Disaster into a "Story"

March 11, 2011. On that day, he was struck by a tremor unlike any he had ever experienced.

"A terrifying rumble shook the ground, and my pieces came crashing down from every shelf. The next day, an evacuation order was issued, and I fled my hometown with just the clothes on my back. At the time, I was sure I'd be back soon. I never imagined it would be over a decade before I could return."

Leaving his home, kiln, tools, and everything he had built behind in Obori, Kondo evacuated to Iwaki City. His search for a new studio began from square one. He visited countless real estate agencies, desperately seeking a place to make pottery. Then, by a stroke of luck, he found a model home in Iwaki where he could work. Incredibly, he was able to resume his craft just three months after the earthquake.

At the time, the media clamored to frame his story as "the Obori Soma-yaki that triumphed over disaster," but Kondo would have none of it.

"I don't want to attach a story to my work."

Having poured his heart and soul into his craft, he was determined that his work be judged on its own merits, not as part of a 'disaster narrative.' It was a testament to his unwavering pride as a ceramic artist. In 2018, he established a full-fledged studio in Iwaki City.

Although he never stopped hoping to return to Obori, there was no clear timeline for his return. He set up the new studio, steeling himself for the possibility that he might never go back. Yet, Kondo says a nagging sense of unease lingered.

"If I call it Obori Soma-yaki but make it in Iwaki, is it truly Obori Soma-yaki?"

No matter how much skill he applied, this was not 'Obori.' What is tradition? Is it the form, the design, or the raw materials? After endless questioning, the answer Kondo arrived at was 'the land.'

"Making Obori Soma-yaki in the land of Obori—that's what gives it meaning."

And so, on March 31, 2023, when the evacuation order was lifted for a part of the Special Reconstruction and Revitalization Base Area, including the Obori district, Kondo made the firm decision to reopen his kiln in his homeland.

Rekindling the Kiln's Flame in the Land of Obori

In June 2023, Kondo opened the new "Toukichirougama" kiln in the land of Obori. The road to the studio is lined with scenes that seem frozen in time since that fateful day. Abandoned buildings. Demolished lots, now empty and barren. A landscape devoid of people, where only wild grasses and trees thrive... Standing amid this scenery is the new Toukichirougama.

The gallery is a treasure trove, showcasing everything from traditional Obori Soma-yaki to collaborative pieces with Aizu lacquerware, and even sake cups that Kondo, a sake aficionado, designed in his quest for the "ultimate drinking experience." From everyday vessels to artworks that stop you in your tracks, the sheer breadth of the collection seems to symbolize the two paths Kondo has walked: that of a 'kiln master' and an 'artist.'

Kondo is now pouring his energy into nurturing the next generation. He has welcomed three women as apprentices, chosen from a large pool of applicants from across the country, who will begin their training in 2025. His quest in Obori began as a solo mission. But now, the successors following in his footsteps are ready to carry the 300-year-old flame of Obori Soma ware into a new era.

Kondo's vision goes far beyond simply reviving the kilns. He aims to restore a landscape where people gather once more in the land of Obori, and where craftsmanship and creativity can flourish.

"If we can create a flow of people here, we'll need restaurants and places to stay. That's how this land will start to come alive again."

This isn't just about Obori Soma ware. It’s about creating a hub where young artists can gather, people can connect through the art of making, and a new community can blossom. Kondo envisions just such a future.

"When I say I'll do something, I get it done."

Those words are a testament to his very way of life: to reignite the flame in a craft region that was on the brink of being lost. Kondo's epic journey has only just begun.