One of five initiatives put forth by RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori was to strive toward a RIKEN “that contributes to culture”, and it was in the spirit of realizing this goal that RIKEN Culture Day was established. Every year on this day, prominent cultural figures are invited to RIKEN to give talks on their respective areas of expertise, bridging the world of science with the world of culture. This year RIKEN invited to the Culture Day event ceramicist Imaemon Imaizumi the 14th, who gave a talk at RIKEN’s Wako campus on March 27th. The 14th in a long line of traditional craftsmen, the Imaizumi blends the old and the new in his work; while practicing a traditional technique of multicolored porcelain ceramics referred to as ‘polychrome Nabeshima ware’ passed down through generations in his family, he also experiments with modern new techniques.
The 14th Imaizumi explained in his talk that ceramic artwork was first imported into Japan in the early 17th century from places such as China and South Korea; porcelain was then discovered in the ground of Kyushu and Arita, and it was from this time that Japan’s unique technique of polychrome Nabeshima ware was developed. Starting from the latter half of the 17th century, pottery from Arita was subsequently exported to Europe, exerting a strong influence on European ceramic artwork. The practice of traditional Japanese ceramic sculpture has itself also been shaped by contemporary world affairs and trends of the times.
In his speech, Imaemon Imaizumi the 14th drew a connection between traditional Japanese ceramics and the practice of scientific discovery. It is often said, he pointed out, that scientific creativity emerges through daily perseverance with experiments, combined with the repetitive practice of trial and error. “It is the same in the world of traditional handicrafts,” he said. “Most important of all is the creativity that comes from the accumulation of everyday experiences.”
The meaning of “tradition”, he went on to explain, also bears a similarity to science: what a single generation can achieve on its own may be small, but traditions are made up of techniques developed over tens or hundreds of years, passed down through the generations in a continuous line. In this sense, he said, tradition shares much in common with scientific research.
The audience of 120 people, researchers among them, who crowded into the hall on Culture Day to see the 14th Imaizumi share his thoughts about traditions, and about science, listened intently to his every word.
