Furutani michio biography of barack
Furutani was very down to earth and he never talked down to me but was always appreciative of the great interest I had in his work and the articles that I had.
These are the words of FURUTANi Michio (), a Japanese potter from Shigeraki, who spent much of his pottery career building and firing kilns.!
Crafting Fire: A Contemporary Exploration of Traditional Iga Wood-firing
Rob Boryk and I first crossed paths in 2014 when he joined the faculty at Juniata College and became part of Jack Troy’s firing crew, of which I was already a member.
As like-minded educators and artists, we naturally found collaboration opportunities, frequently connecting our students across institutions to learn about wood-firing. A year later, in 2015, I discovered Anagama: Building Kilns and Firing by Furutani Michio (1946-2000), a profound resource originally published in 1994 and translated into English in 2006 by Shiori Noro, Dick Lehman, and Odin Maxwell.
Furutani’s work goes beyond technical details; it encompasses the history, design, and operation of traditional Japanese anagama kilns. Immersing myself in this book offered me new perspectives and deepened my respect for the art of wood-firing.
In 2021, I shared Furutani’s insights with Rob, and we were both inspired to explore the techniques, p
