Lacquer is said to be JAPAN and is one of the crafts that Japan is proud of.
45 years ago, without a teacher, I stepped into the world of wood lacquer crafts. At that time, the lacquer industry was too focused on superficial beauty, making vessels that boasted of their technique, losing functionality and modernity, and the work was divided into small tasks. I wanted to go back to the basics, "hollow out a piece of wood, create a shape, and apply lacquer." I applied layers of lacquer to bring out the strength of the lacquer, simplifying the technique, and expressing my own thoughts and individuality.
The reason I became a craftsman is because of my father, a Japanese painter, and three spiritual mentors: Mr. Kuniyoshi Obara, founder of Tamagawa University; Mr. Noriyuki Ushijima, a Western-style painter; and Mr. Tatsuzo Shimaoka, a ceramic artist. "The path opens up when you strongly and strongly wish for your goal. The strength of layering colors in a quiet expression. The magnitude of the vessel, the depth of the craft." "Daido Mumon" I believe I have become who I am today because I learned from these three people.
For this exhibition at Ippodo, I carved the wood and painted it with lacquer, placing a large tray full of sake and food in the hope that it would bring people together and create bonds.

Tohru Matsuzaki

Tohru Matsuzaki was a baseball player in his childhood. Even after graduating from university, he was such an athlete that he became a baseball coach, and even now, he continues to work every day, working energetically and happily as if he were playing baseball. When he first started working, he didn't have a teacher and made frames in his own way. He simply carved out a thick zelkova board into a square and painted it with plenty of vermilion lacquer.
The frame caught the eye of the late dyeing and weaving artist, Keisuke Serizawa, and the board and glass paintings that were included in it took the world by storm. This was more than 40 years ago.
Currently, as the representative of the Kokugakai Crafts Department, he carries on the will of Shoji Hamada and Muneyoshi Yanagi, and is tasked with passing on the function and form of "beauty of utility" and the philosophy of manufacturing to the next generation.
The woodworking works of Tohru Matsuzaki are truly beautiful, exuding a sense of nostalgia, warmth, and roughness that makes you feel like you've seen them somewhere before. They are the very embodiment of the artist's personality. They seem to be packed with the Japanese spirit, Japanese techniques, and Japanese aesthetic sense that Ippodo aims for.
Obon is a time once a year when we welcome and offer prayers to the spirits of our ancestors. During this time, we gathered together the huge trays that Tohru Matsuzaki has been making for 40 years. People gather around this tray to eat, drink, talk, and laugh...May the time of bliss flow.

Keiko Aono, Ippodo

The red of Matsuzaki is undoubtedly the red of the Jomon period. The red of the Jomon period is the red of the sun.
The large, carefree sun has been transferred as is to Matsuzaki's vessel.

When I saw Matsuzaki Tohru's work, I couldn't help but think of the Jomon period, and saw the shapes, expressions, affinities, and above all, the feelings of prayer.
This intimate and object of prayer is what is most lost today.

Shigeru Uchida