I’ve seen much recently about kiln openings here in the states being great events, and the best place to get first dibs on a potter’s work. Notably, Ron Lang holds kiln opening events, and I’m sure they’re great…such an event, with fresh fired pottery straight out of the kiln, is a dangerous place for folks cut from the same cloth as me…I’d go bankrupt buying pots at kiln openings, by Ron and Sharon or any number of other American potters!
I’d definitely lose my shirt at a kiln opening like this, where I’d pay for a ticket just to see what comes out, much less take something home!
The following images are from the bonsai and pottery blog of Haruyoshi. Glance back a couple of posts, and you’ll see his history and a few pots in the “Demystifying Tosuis” post. Glance back further, and you’ll see a post dedicated to his work, “Bonsai Pottery by Haruyoshi”. Both can be found in the table of contents under the “menu” if you’re mobile, or under the banner if you’re not.
Haruyoshi pots are very popular in Japan right now. Demand can scarcely be met. I remember a mere 2 or 3 years ago, pots were still for sale directly on his website, now, you have to go through a dealer! It’s not a surprise, they are spectacular. Prices right now are stable, up around 200% from 3-4 years ago: around half the price of a nice Gekkou or Yuzan of comparable size.

Opening the doors to the kiln…

Racks of yellows with sometsuke window landscapes.

Akae(red) pots.

Some intricate go-sai pieces.

A tiny sometsuke landscape.

Overglaze enamel winter landscapes. I freaking love these! The simple fact that they’re done of that grey glaze is enough to make me scream like a 60s schoolgirl at a Beatles show. Very nice pots for deciduous trees shown nekkid.

Examining the quality of the porcelain. It’s oft repeated that you can “tell” if a pot is porcelain if light shines through it. This is untrue. There are many pots of quite thick porcelain, and this “test” tells you nothing about whether or not it is porcelain. However, pots that are porcelain can be judged on quality, if light shines through them. Porcelain should be delicate, thin walled. The more light shines through, the better the quality, the skill, the technique. Lovely. This is not easy to do either. In fact, it’s so very difficult, that the significant majority of really nice porcelain pots are made by a potter, then painted by someone else. Many many Kutani pots are made in this fashion, most of a much lower quality of both porcelain technique AND painting skill shown here. Training under a variety of pottery artists: a master clay artisan, a master of glazes, and a master painter, Haruyoshi is like a perfect synergy of all the arts together.

These images were taken from Haruyoshi’s blog, which he updates far more often than mine! It features trees in his pots, his pottery, and his doings about town. Of course, it’s in Japanese, but worth the time reading through a translator if you need it!
Hrauyoshi Blog
Thanks for reading!