Taketombo Curious Case
Brenton Mauriello
aka ケント
Entrepreneur, California USA
Destination: Onta, Koishiwara, Arita
INTERESTS:
Japanese Pottery
Architecture of traditional Japanese houses
Brenton's first stoneware potter's wheel experience at Yamamaru kiln. (yea, Japanese-style, wheel turns clockwise)
Exceptional Experience
Exploring Koishiwara and Arita - A Dream Come True!
Porcelain throwing experience at Arita. Unique experience to compare the difference in thorwing stoneware clay and porcelain clay.
Strolling at Onta, a hidden pottery village that produce pottery using only hydro-powder and wood-firing.
My journey to Japan has always been inspired by a deep-rooted fascination with Japanese architecture and craftsmanship. I came to japan wanting inspiration for a house I am building in Colombia. For years, I dreamt of visiting creators and craftsmen across the country to learn from them and gain a richer understanding of their traditions. However, the barriers of language and a lack of familiarity with the region made it seem like an impossible task.
That's when I found Taketombo - and my journey took an extraordinary turn.
Taketombo didn't just provide a tour; they curated an experience. They took the time to understand my passion and what I wished to get from this journey. Within a few days, they had created a custom itinerary that perfectly matched my desires. The trip they organized to Koishiwara and Arita was nothing short of a dream come true. Being picked up from the Tenjin area, driven to the beautiful town of Koishiwara, and engaging in a pottery-making workshop was a transformative experience.
Staying overnight in a cozy accommodation, which was a hotel converted from an elementary school, was the cherry on top of an immersive day. The meals provided were memorable and delicious. Day two was equally impressive as I got to work with the porcelain masters of Arita.
What I appreciated the most about this tour was the flexibility and meticulous attention to detail.
Mikki transformed my trip into an immersive experience, so I cannot thank her enough. If you want to delve deeper into Japan's architectural and artisanal culture, Taketombo will make your dream a reality. I fell in love with ceramics and have continued that journey with countless hours on the potters wheel since I left Japan. I will forever be thankful that I found a new hobby and creative outlet. Additionally, the trip inspired many ideas that I incorporated into my home's design.
Thank you, Mikki, for crafting such a remarkable journey. My dream came true, and it was more beautiful than I had ever imagined.
Words from Taketombo:
It was a great pleasure to support Brenton on his inspiration journey. After hearing his interests and desire to experience Japanese pottery and see historic architecture of Japanese houses, we set his trip to visit pottery towns for both stoneware and porcelain. For learners of ceramics art, we believe exposure to the 2 variations on traditions as well as material and techniques would be great entry point to the world of pottery.
It didin't take an extended long stay for Brenton to realize Japanese small craft towns offer something one cannot find in crowded popular destinations. He probably wasn't even aware, his trip stretched across 3 prefectures in Kyushu Japan (Fukuoka, Saga and Oita). That's show how much pottery history is concentrated here in the South. The serenity provides amazing focus time for cultural immersion and self-reflection. Happy to see Brenton had spent some quiet time with his sketch book, mapping his ideas for his house project in Colombia.
Brenton has stayed in touch and have shared with us his pottery works from the US. We also catched up in the summer at our LA Kintsugi workshop! We are exceptionally happy to see our immersive travel experience have inspired and reaffirmed his devotion in pottery craft and offer him a glimpse of what Japanese artisanship is about.
As always, we are happy that people who have experienced their travel with Taketombo have become our good friends and have stay connected with us.
If you want to delve deeper into Japan's architectural and artisanal culture, Taketombo will make your dream a reality.
- Brenton
