Inochi no Utsuwa
Takahiro Kondo is a renowned artist from Kyoto, working primarily with clay. He has exhibited widely in Japan and internationally.
"Inochi no Utsuwa" is his project to suppout the community in their efforts to go back to normal life in the Tohoku region following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Takahito Kondo has strong ties to the Tohoku region, partly through his wife whose family is from Sendai, His Mugen-gama or Eternal Kiln project began in Miyagi Prefecture in 1998 and through it, Kondo began teaching ceramics to the students at a local high school, Nashiyama Gakuin.
In the aftermath the earthquake and tsunami, Takahiro Kondo visited the area to see how hi might help. To his astonishment, both the kiln and the attached 150-year-old barn used as a studio were undameged. As a way to give back to the devastated community, in mid-July 2011, he decided to produce functional vessels using the local clay and firing in the school's chambered climbing kiln.
Takahiro Kondo says: "My ability is so minimal in the face of such a disastrous event, So I am seeking wider support both from within and outside Japan in order for this project to continue and expand, My aim is to deliver more Utsuwa as vessels of prayer, Utuwa as vessels of culture and Utsuwa as vessels of life to all the people in need."
