Draft:Taku Nakano

Taku Nakano (born 25 October 1967) is a Japanese ceramic and Kintsugi artist. He is from Hyogo prefecturell. .

Person/History
A potter who runs a pottery workshop in Omotesando (Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo). He uses rare materials such as rare metals, glass, and natural lacquer to create pottery with the motif of the universe, and creates artwork in his own style. He is also active as a Kintsugi master   At the Georgian Wine Exhibition held at Tennozu Isle, the government of Georgia (Georgia) requested him to do kintsugi on a wine jar, and it was exhibited as a symbolic object where Georgian wine culture and Japanese kintsugi culture met. . In addition, the method and style of upcycling (Nakano calls it Omotesando-yaki) by fusing his own ceramics and glass with kintsugi to match the modern lifestyle. was published by Nikkei. "A new wave of traditional crafts that are attracting attention"

Childhood and student days
Born and raised on Awaji Island, he spends his time running around fields and mountains, diving in the sea to catch fishes. On the roof of his parents' house, he looked up at the sky full of stars and longed for outer space. Unable to do the same things as others, he was not good at studying and failed exams, so he enters Occupation Ceramic art a private high school on the island. He said he wanted to join a strong athletic club, so he joined the rowing club, which changed his life. Seniors that were All-Japan level belonged to the rowing club, and he said that he had aspirations, saying, "I want to be a man among men, I want to be strong like them." In high school, he participated in national sports festivals and inter-high school competition, but he was far from winning. However, Nakano himself aspired to become the best rower in Japan, and he entered the university's rowing club (Nihon University), which was the strongest in Japan at the time. After that, in college, he won the All Japan Oxford Shield Cup, and became the best rower in Japan, which was his dream. After graduating, he joined a corporate team and thought about becoming an Olympic athlete, but he decided to retire due to concerns about his life

After Employment
He joined a maJor electronic component manufacturer (TDK Corporation). He was in charge of sales of recording media such as cassette tapes and video tapes at the Tokyo headquarters. Nakano was not good at reading and writing, but he said he was able to work two or three times more than others, because of the willpower which he had trained on the boat. As a result, his sales were always at the top, and he won every sales contest. He became overconfident and thought that "he was always right," and gradually disobeyed his superiors' instructions.

When he was 27 years old, his boss told him to go to the countryside to cool off, and he was relegated to Shizuoka. This transfer to Shizuoka led him to meet pottery. He became interested when he saw elderly people using a potter's wheel at a pottery club near his new home, and soon began making pottery by imitating what he saw. He became obsessed with it in no time and was able to make most of the vessels in less than a year. Afterwards, as he moved on to creating objects, he came across his representative technique of expression, mud pouring called "saidei". After two and a half years, he entered competitions to test his strength, and was selected in numerous competitions, such as the Fugaku Biennale Exhibition, the Mashiko Ceramic Art Exhibition, and the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition, which are said to be the gateway to success for ceramic artists, and was also nominated for prizes. He was invited to award ceremonies and invitation parties to meet and talk with potters and judges.

At the age of 30, he made the Shizuoka sales office the number one sales office in Japan in one year, and was recalled to the head office in three years. He was assigned to the marketing department under orders to create a system for sharing his work methods with salespeople all over the country. He built his own SFA (Sales Force Automation) mechanism on the In-house intranet. This was highly evaluated, and he was selected for a cross-company project under the direct control of the president, and was put in charge of the CRM project. He was thirty-three years old. At that time, his work was satisfying, but he couldn't forget the time he encountered pottery and felt the clay in Shizuoka. His thoughts were growing. Gradually he thought, "Maybe only I can do it, and if so, I want to spend my life and take on the challenge," I decided to abandon the blessed environment and retire at the age of 36. Then I became independent as a potter.

Independence
He opened a workshop in Fukuei, Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, which was near his residence at the time. It is a place like a hut about 20 minutes on foot from the station, and the name of the workshop is named "Saideigama" because of his specialty technique. He started a classroom for his living while working. He made his own flyers and put them in mailboxes of his neighbors which worked perfectly along with the great reviews quickly filled the classroom. A year later the floor was expanded. Even so, they could not catch up, and two years later they moved to a larger location in front of the station. Two years later, that classroom was full, so he rented an additional small place nearby. Around the age of 43, he was approached by the president of Aoyama Bell Commons, saying, "Would you like to open a classroom at my place?"so I decided to expand into Aoyama.

The class in Aoyama was also a great success. and it changed the image of pottery, many commercial broadcast visited for coverage. His easy-to-understand instructions and versatile pottery-making received media attention, and many celebrities began to visit. Due to the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the redevelopment of Aoyama Bell Commons was decided, and the studio was moved to Omotesando (Jingumae). Nakano was never a potter's apprentice. No one taught him pottery or lacquer art. Originally, he was not good at learning from others, but he liked to find his own way. By studying decorations from around the world and practicing them himself to teach his students, he accumulated a wide range of skills and knowledge.

Turning point
In the midst of his busy days teaching and running classes, when he was having dinner with his young child, he heard an interview video of a living national treasure potter on TV. His child who had been watching for a while said, "Your a better potter than this person! You're the best potter in Japan!" What his child said awoke Nakano. Encouraged by the idea that he could not let his children see his uncool side, he resumed his creative activities, creating the only things he could make with his own unique pottery.



The idea of Omotesando ware
The skills and knowledge he acquired through intensive work opportunities were wideranging, and he acquired them by fumbling around, making them unique. From his special techniques, there are 6 major elements: l. Clay, 2. Luster (metallic luster), 3. Rare metals (gold, platinum, titanium), 4. Glass (glaze and blown glass), 5. Rupture (bursting decoration), 6. Natural lacquer. He resumed making pottery by combinig the above techniques to create the universe in his work. He created pottery that upcycled ceramics and glass to fit the modern lifestyle using Kintsugi, and named it Omotesando-yaki. NIKKEi The STYLE, published by Nikkei has featured it extensively, and it has been called "a new wave of traditional crafts that the world is paying attention to".

TNCA☆
In 2020, due to the global spread of infectious diseases caused by the new coronavirus, we lost our main business at that time, gifts for parents at weddings, inbound customers, corporate employee trainings, etc. so Jingumae closed down, and branded under his own name, and relaunched TNCA* (Taku Nakano CeramicArts*l (Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku). The studio focuses on Nakano's artwork, and workshops will also be held. As an SDGs activist, he is also focusing on activities to support developing countries.