Japan: the intangible wonders of Sado Island

Japan: the intangible wonders of Sado Island

The unique identity of the island of Sado is revealed through its history and its traditions.

Ito Sekisui V, designated a Living National Treasure of Japan in 2003, making pottery in the “ Neriage ” style, one of his signature pieces.

The traveler approaching the island of Sado, Nestle in the heart of the Sea of ​​Japan, is surprised, amazed by the panorama it offers. With its steep paths, its high cliffs shredding the sky and the sea which overhang a volcanic coast, he could find a false Irish air to him. But his gaze catches the hills and rice terraces whose deep green joins an ocean adorned with a navy and turquoise dress. Surprising, astonishing, and even dazzling. Its wide open spaces, its mountain ranges, its rivers, its unspoiled and rich nature, offer so much diversity that it reveals a new face at each cardinal point as in each season.

Suffice to say that you would have to have a lot of time in front of you to discover all its secrets and all its wonders. But beyond its grandiose landscapes, it is the immersion in its own traditions that Sado will prove fascinating for those who cross it.

Formed by a series of tectonic movements over more than three million years, Sado, the largest island in the Sea of ​​Japan, is full of beautiful natural landscapes, such as Senkakuwan Bay in Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Park. . A glass-bottom boat cruise, available several times a day, offers spectacular views of the 20m-high rocky cliffs of the bay, which continue for more than two kilometers.

Once a land of exile for intellectuals, disgraced nobles and artists opposing the governments in place at different times, the island of Sado enjoyed a high level population. Well before the Edo era (1603-1868), there were many exiles among the elite, such as the poet Hozumi Asomioyu in 722 for having criticized the imperial family, the Emperor Juntoku in 1221 for political reasons (he lost the disturbance of Jokyu, also known as the Jokyu War, a revolt aimed at overthrowing the ruling power), the Buddhist monk Nichiren who criticized the Kamakura shogunate or the famous playwright Zeami in 1434, who would have incurred the wrath of the shogun.

Some of the best talents in Japan (craftsmen, carpenters, merchants, sailors, engineers, etc.) were encouraged to settle permanently on the island of Sado, known for its underground riches (gold and silver mines were discovered in 1601 and exploited for nearly four centuries).

The gold mine having become a very important source of income for the Edo government, it commissioned elite samurai to oversee its production. Before being an armed force, and far from the warlike image conveyed by certain novels and certain cinematographic works, these samurai were educated bureaucrats, extremely cultured, mastering the traditional art of the tea ceremony, just like that of No whom they helped to promote. This is how these elites, who had a solid appreciation of Japanese culture, founded a high society on this island with strong traditions that are passed down from generation to generation.

The Iwakubi Rice Terraces extend into the mountains over 350m above sea level and overlook the Honshu side of Niigata Prefecture to the sea. The rice terraces have been handed down for over 300 years, and it about 460 remain today. The Iwakubi Rice Terraces are the first Japanese site listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as one of the globally significant agricultural heritage systems, the set of "exceptional landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and valuable cultural heritage. 

In this culture specific to Sado, art and crafts hold an important place. We therefore find Nohgaku (No or Noh), a traditional performing art composed of dance, songs and music. This ancestral form of theater is deeply rooted in the daily life of the inhabitants of the island of Sado where it has spread as a performing art dedicated to the deities.

The most traditional craft of Sado Island is represented by Mumyoi ceramics which has been passed down from father to son for generations.

This craft has its roots in the natural resources of the soils of Aikawa, a former mining town that once prospered thanks to its gold and silver mines. Mumyoi , a rare clay mineral quarried around the Sado gold mines, found itself mixed with other types of clay, especially ceramic clay. Rich in iron oxide, this red clay becomes shiny when fired at very high temperatures and produces extremely strong original pottery, which ranges from a simple household item (utensil for the tea ceremony) to a work of art. the most rated. And it is precisely in Aikawa that Itō Sekisui lives, a famous potter who creates these unique works declared intangible heritage of Japan in 2003.

Ito Sekisui V, designated a Living National Treasure of Japan in 2003, making pottery in the “ Neriage ” style, one of his signature pieces.

Born on the island of Sado in 1941, Itō Sekisui comes from a long line (15th generation) of ceramists. At birth he was given the name Yochi Itō. In Japanese, the first character of his name (Yo) means "oven".

He was only 19 when his father died while studying ceramics at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, a prestigious university. As a young graduate, he returned to Sado in 1966 where he began creating a series of Mumyoi ceramics in three distinct styles. In 1972, with the very first series named  Yohen , he won his first prize at the Japan Traditional Arts and Crafts Exhibition.

In 1977, he inherited the family business and succeeded his father, becoming Itō Sekisui V. Inspired by the traditional works of his ancestors, he created during the 1980s a series of cylindrical ceramics called Neriage . Different clays of several colors are mixed together, cut into round slices and then arranged next to each other, creating a subtle floral pattern or even delicate birds that seem to have been drawn with a brush.

The Sadogashima series , whose style features a distorted and rugged appearance reminiscent of the rocky coast of Sado Island, will be revealed in 2009.

Master Sekisui V started creating Mumyoi items in 1966 and has introduced three distinct styles to date. His first creation was the “ Yohen ” series of ceramics, with its “fluctuating” red and black colors refined during the passages through the fire. His next creation was the “ Neriage ” series of marbled ceramics. Clays of different colors are kneaded together into a cylindrical shape and cut into round slices. The cross-sections are then arranged next to each other, revealing patterns of flowers or birds. His “ Sadogashima ” series features a distorted and rugged appearance, reminiscent of the rocky coast of Sado Island.

It was in New York that the Onishi art gallery hosted Itō Sekisui's first solo exhibition outside of Japan in 2017, allowing him to export the magic of his pottery to the United States and provide a turning point in his career. Indeed, his works will then be exhibited by institutions as legendary as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London or the Smithsonian Museum in Washington.

In 2005, he received the medal with purple ribbon which distinguishes his contribution to academic and artistic achievements. Designated Living National Treasure of Japan in 2003, Itō Sekisui V thus obtained the highest distinction in the work of preserving cultural heritage. Finally, in 2011 he was decorated with the Order of the Rising Sun, Golden Rays with rosette from the Emperor of Japan.

On the island of Sado, in the Itō Sekisui museum located at the top of a hill near the coast, visitors can appreciate many of his works and, at the turn of a section exhibiting the works of his ancestors, cross the smile of the Master, particularly happy to share his heritage. And Itō Sekisui concludes: “Nearly 400 years have passed since my ancestor came to Sado, attracted by its charms. It is a heavy responsibility to bear, for I have been shaped not only by the 80 or so years of my own life, but also by the many other lives that have preceded it…”