Steve Jobs Vase May 19th 20:23

Steve Jobs's "origin of beauty", which created revolutionary products such as the iPhone and Macintosh, was the Japanese art "Shin-hanga" that he saw at his best friend's house when he was a teenager. That was introduced in the WEB special feature in July last year.

Later, further coverage of Jobs' footsteps in Japan revealed that he was very interested in pottery and often visited galleries and kilns.

What did Jobs feel from the pottery and how was it influenced?

(Kentaro Saeki, World News Department, International Broadcasting Station)

"This and this and that"

Four eyes looking inside through the gaps in the blinds of the gallery on regular holidays.

Afternoon on Wednesday, April 10, 1996.

The antique town of Higashiyama Ward, where the old-fashioned quiet appearance of Kyoto remains.

A store clerk who happened to come down from the house on the second floor noticed a foreign man and woman and invited them inside.

Then, as soon as the man came in, he suddenly pointed to three pieces of pottery, saying, "This, this, and that."

This man was Steve Jobs.

"The two young men were wearing white T-shirts and jeans, and their wives were very beautiful," said the store clerk.

Jobs said, "I've been to Kyoto many times, but my wife is the first."

Jobs at that time was moving toward returning to the old nest Apple, which was exiled more than 10 years ago, riding on the momentum that made the movie "Toy Story" a big hit.

Jobs tried to pay by credit card, but it wasn't available at the gallery at the time.

At the store, I asked him where he was staying and then trusted him.

I stayed at Tawaraya Ryokan, one of the oldest inns in Kyoto.

Jobs called the United States from the store and the charges were transferred the next day.

It takes about 15 minutes on foot from the gallery to the accommodation.

Jobs then visited for two days in a row.

In fact, Jobs visited another gallery in Kyoto on April 6th of the previous week.

Ask questions with a biting eye

A solo exhibition was about to begin at the gallery.

The author is Yukio Shakunaga, who makes "Etsunaka Seto Yaki" that has been in Toyama prefecture for over 400 years.

With his delicate style, he received strong support in the world of tea ceremony, and this day was the first day of his first solo exhibition in Kyoto.

Looking outside, a foreign couple had been waiting before the opening at 10 am, so Mr. Shakunaga moved up about 30 minutes and put them in.

There are about 70 works on display, including tea bowls, jugs, and flower bowls.

The two held the work they were interested in with both hands and checked the feel.

Mr. Shakunaga felt something special about his hand and facial expression.

Yukio Shakunaga

"I can't convince you just by looking at it. The warmth and softness of the soil. It seems that I value things that can only be experienced with that kind of tactile sensation. "

Jobs seemed to have something to ask Mr. Shakunaga, and he was fidgeting.

Mr. Shakunaga was caught by Jobs when the flowers delivered and the response to the acquaintances he visited settled down.

He was interested in soil.

The first question touched on Mr. Shakunaga's artist soul.

"Where can I buy this soil?"

Mr. Shakunaga said, "The soil is a special white clay that can be obtained in the satoyama near the workshop, and I dig it myself. I make the soil according to the work and bake it in the kiln according to the purpose. The expression is different for each work. , The base is white clay. "

It is said that this soil has fine particles, and when it is baked at a high temperature of 1300 degrees Celsius, it gives a comfortable feel that makes you feel the smoothness of the original clay.

When Mr. Shakunaga explained how important the soil was, Jobs said, "I want to see how the soil is being dug and the kiln." I asked Mr. Shakunaga, who can't speak, as a question.

"How many times do you bake

?"

"How do you find the soil?"

"Which side of the mountain can you get the soil?"

I was explaining by drawing a picture.

As the technical questions continued, he seemed to be in the same trade.

Jobs continued to ask questions by digging into Mr. Shakunaga's eyes head-on, and the exchange continued for more than an hour.

"I had an unusual interest in the fact that the soil was transformed by the flames of the kiln into pottery," said Mr. Shakunaga.

"Round the corners of the plate"

Jobs appeared in the gallery for three days in a row.

On the last day he picked up a black tea bowl and said, "I want this."

It was a well-balanced work that Mr. Shakunaga liked.

Jobs bought 7 or 8 orthodox items such as tea bowls, flower bowls, and coffee cups.

After that, Jobs asked, "I want you to make a work for yourself."

He went to the square plate and he said, "I want you to make something a little smaller."

I showed it by hand, so when Mr. Shakunaga measured it with a ruler, it was 22 cm.

He also ordered, "Half is black with glaze, and the other half is baked in the soil. And I want a change between black and soil."

And the design of the plate that Jobs added was "round the corners".

When Mr. Shakunaga drew a plate on paper and rounded the corners, Jobs took the ballpoint pen and wrote a more rounded curve, saying, "I want you to round it more boldly."

Mr. Shakunaga appreciates Jobs' sense of the order to round the corners.

Yukio Shakunaga

"If you have a horn on your shoulder or a gentle curve, it will be easier to cover it with your palm, and you will definitely want to check the roundness in your hand. I think it's charming."

The series of orders has a sense of Jobs' pottery.

Jobs liked "baking" to bake the soil without glaze.

Regarding the flower case, "I want you to make a simple line in the traditional Japanese style. I want you to put a line on the neck and use glaze up to that point. I like the texture of the soil burning red and rough, so I use glaze for the other half. "Don't put it on."

Chawan said, "I want you to use black glaze on the inside."

Jobs liked black.

At this time Jobs introduced himself for the first time.

He gave Mr. Shakunaga a book of the movie "Toy Story" and said, "I produced it."

The movie has been released in Japan since the previous month.

However, Mr. Shakunaga, who did not know the movie, just said "Thank you" and set the book aside.

Then Jobs suddenly got sick, and he gave Mr. Shakunaga a book as if he said, "Look at it for a moment.

" I turned the pages of the book myself.

Jobs asked, "How is it?", And when Mr. Shakunaga unavoidably answered, "You look like this hero," he finally seemed to be convinced.

Jobs gave Mr. Shakunaga a book and turned the pages himself.

For the next 10 years, Jobs placed an order with Mr. Shakunaga four times.

I was so fascinated by Mr. Shakunaga's work.

Yukio Shakunaga

"I think Jobs was inspired by the soil. I'm very sensitive to the power and charm of the soil born from nature. I think he was a straightforward person. "

Resonance with design

Jobs' commitment to "round the corners" resonated with computer design.

In December 1996, when he met Mr. Shakunaga, Jobs returned to Apple for the first time in 11 years.

The iMac, which changed the history of personal computers, was developed by Jobs by forming a very small number of teams in an attempt to rebuild the leaning management.

It is a playful design that makes heavy use of curves and makes you want to touch it.

The iMac was a huge hit worldwide and became the best-selling Apple ever, informing the world of the resurgence of charismatic executive Jobs.

Regarding the iMac, a former Apple Japan executive said that it was impressive that everyone was hugging and stroking.

With that momentum, in February 1999, after returning to Jobs in Japan, the first lecture was given, and more than 6,000 fans packed into the venue.

However, at this time, it was probably the pottery that filled Jobs's head.

Inspiration from the jar

At that time, I found a person who guided Jobs who came to Japan in Tokyo.

At that time, Robert Yellin from the United States was in charge of the ceramic column on Japanese English paper.

One day, I received a phone call from Apple asking, "Can I guide Jobs to the pottery gallery?"

When Mr. Yerin agreed, the next person in charge told him about Jobs's "Torisetsu" (instruction manual).

"Jobs was treated like a president," said Yerin, who taught me some of the "Torisetsu."

・ Jobs does not smoke, so please keep smokers away.

・ He does not use offensive or obscene words.

・ Keep away from crowds.

However, the actual Jobs are said to have been a calm "super nice guy".

According to Mr. Yerin, Jobs on the day was "happy like a child at a candy store."

Jobs said, "He loved pottery since he touched it at an antique store when he went to Kyoto."

Mr. Yerin guided us to three places.

The long-established antique art store "Kochukyo" in Nihonbashi, "Kuroda Toen" in Shibuya, which is centered on modern and contemporary artists, and individual collectors.

Jobs was most interested in "Tsukubai", a pot unique to Shigaraki ware around the 16th century.

It is said that it was named because it looks like a person crouching down.

The short, lovable, chunky and powerful figure is attractive.

Jobs, who picked up the "Tsukubai", suddenly said "Oh, Oh ... OK" while looking at it by rotating it, stroking a gentle curve, and touching the soil surface. ..

Jobs was very attached to the curve of the shoulder of "Tsukubai".

He told Yerin, "It's very natural. It's very gentle on the eyes, it's gentle and romantic. It's like stroking your shoulders." I want to have it. "

"Jobs saw the Shigaraki ware pot and I think he got a hint of making things," said Jobs.

Jobs incorporated the beauty of the curves found in Japanese pottery into his products and expressed his own beauty.

On this day, Jobs, who enjoyed the pot, repeatedly said the word "sublime" (divine).

He may have felt something beyond human knowledge in the pot.

On this day, he was also telling Mr. Yerin this.

"I like the new print, Hasui

Kawase. The color of the work and the light and darkness are good."

"Junichiro Tanizaki's" In Praise of Shadows "is wonderful."

It took more than 5 hours.

Jobs would have been very happy.

Later, Mr. Yerin was contacted by an Apple representative saying, "It was the first time I saw such a happy Jobs face."

"Isn't there an ash-covered tea bowl?"

After that, Jobs continued to be attached to pottery until just before he died in October 2011 at the age of 56.

In July 2010, during his last trip to Kyoto with his wife and daughter, Jobs visited Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, a Shigaraki ware town about an hour's drive from Kyoto.

I visited Rakusai, the fifth generation of Shigaraki ware, a popular writer.

He is a master who inherited the traditional Shigaraki ware technique of the Takahashi family, which has continued since the Edo period.

When Mr. Rakusai was called and went out from the front door, Jobs picked up the tea bowl on the shelf and asked, "Is there an ash-covered tea bowl?"

Mr. Rakusai says, "I was suddenly asked such a question, so I felt like someone who likes pottery."

"Ash fog" is a phenomenon in which the ash of firewood burned in a kiln accidentally hits a vessel and melts to form a glass-like surface.

The color and pattern of the pottery caused by unpredictable changes in the kiln is called "scenery" and is a point of taste of pottery, which is highly valuable.

If you put the vessel in the kiln, you don't know what kind of "scenery" it will be until you take it out.

Mr. Rakusai, a master, says "God entrusts you".

Mr. Rakusai says, "It's not like you can put everything in a kiln and bake it well. If you can make one or two good ones, I'm so happy that you can jump up."

There is no correct answer for "ash cover".

It is also difficult for an amateur to distinguish between good and bad.

However, Mr. Rakusai says that Jobs firmly recognized the goodness of "ash cover".

After carefully looking at Mr. Rakusai's work, Jobs arranged the five selected items on the table in the drawing room.

It was a large bowl, a flower bowl, tableware, and two bowls.

Of these, the large bowl was covered with a lot of burnt ash, and it was a self-confident work that Mr. Rakusai felt was the best he had ever baked.

Mr. Rakusai was spoken to by Jobs just before he returned.

As he continued to speak with a serious look, I wondered if Mr. Rakusai was saying something important, and he tried to hear the words, but he didn't understand.

But in the end, he could only hear the loud word "Good!".

高橋楽斎さん
「あの言葉が自分の作品への評価かなと思い、いまも自分への励ましとしています。ジョブズさんが自分の一番いい作品を選んでくれてうれしかったし、ジョブズさんは焼き物のことをよくわかった、本当に好きな方やなというふうに思っています」

骨とう好きの世界では「日本人は信楽と李朝で死ねる」という言葉がある。

究極の焼き物は、質素な信楽焼か李朝の白磁だという意味だ。

それは、ジョブズがモノづくりの信条とした“シンプルさ”と直結している。

当時のジョブズは、この境地にまで達していたのかもしれない。

ジョブズを案内したハイヤーの運転手によると、京都に戻るジョブズは、来るとき以上にニコニコしていた。

運転手も「勧め甲斐があったな」と喜んでいたそうだ。

ジョブズは、楽斎さんの信楽焼を見た1年余りあとに亡くなった。

興味尽きないジョブズの審美眼

ジョブズは、自身の感性で焼き物の本質に迫り、それは、陶芸家の自信作も見極められるほど深い理解へとつながった。

ジョブズは2001年3月に放送されたNHKの番組でのインタビューで次のように話している。

「私たちが常に感じているのは、アップルは技術と人間性との交差点でありたいということなのです。音楽、映画、写真、こうした人々がやりたいと思うことを、より豊かな形で表現できるようにしたいのです」

Jobs aimed for technology that fits in the hands of humans.

It feels good to the touch, is easy to handle, and feels familiar.

I think it was in line with the feeling that Jobs had when he held the jar.

Jobs focused on Japanese culture with his own aesthetics and incorporated it into product design.

Covering Jobs' footsteps in Japan, it seems like he's asking us to remind us of the wonders of the culture around him.

It's been more than 10 years since Jobs died.

What is the origin of the innovative design he created that still fascinates the people of the world?

I'm not exhausted.

Kentaro Saeki ,

a reporter for the World News Department of the International Broadcasting Station , joined the station

in 1987.

He worked at Akita Broadcasting Station, Manila Bureau Chief, Hachinohe Branch, Mito Broadcasting Station, etc. before assuming his current position.

Click here for a special feature of Steve Jobs interviewed by reporter Saeki

Steve Jobs in Kyoto

Steve Jobs The Origin of "Beauty"