[su-nao home: Keiji Matsumoto] Live honestly, create honestly. Craftsmanship that fits into everyday life, expressed in black vessels

-First of all, please tell us how you first encountered pottery.

I first encountered pottery when I was 21 years old. At the time, I was studying abroad in the US. After attending a Japanese university for three years, I went to the US for two years. That's where I first encountered pottery.

Actually, I hadn't had many opportunities to come into contact with art until then, but the university I was studying at had an art class in its curriculum. I happened to take a design class, and the teacher was really good.

He taught me, "This is what art is." And that's when I thought art was interesting.

--From there, your interest in expression grew.

That's right. I started to think, "What does it mean to express myself?"

I really enjoyed creating something, so I took a variety of classes, including design, painting, photography, and pottery. Of all the classes, pottery was the most interesting. I thought, "I want to make this my life's work."

So when I returned to Japan, I decided I wanted to study pottery in earnest, so I went to Tajimi, where I enrolled as a research student at the Tajimi Ceramic Design Institute and studied pottery for two years.

I must have had so much fun back then. There were times when I stayed up all night working with clay (laughs). I was totally absorbed in it.

--After that, you started working as a writer.

At first, I created art pieces such as objects under the name Matsumoto Keiji, but after launching su-nao home in 2015, I began to focus on creating tableware.

I wanted to create tableware that would suit the dining table, something that would go well with everyday home-cooked meals like hamburgers, fried chicken, and omelet rice.

I wanted to create something that would naturally fit into the everyday dining table.

So I wanted to make sure that the product was easy to use, with a good size, lightness, and the ease with which the containers can be stacked.

-Why did you choose all black?

I like simple things, like one color or something pure. That's why I choose black.

Black really makes green and red ingredients stand out. It makes the ingredients look even more delicious. That's why I made it with the hope that people would use black dishes.

But at first, I was often asked, "Does black tableware make food look delicious?"

In those cases, I would show them a photo of the food on a plate and explain, "This is what it looks like."

It has now been well accepted, and people have started saying things like, "Black makes it look delicious."

-Why did you choose the brand name su-nao home?

Personally, I really like the word "honest."

When you translate the English word "simple" into Japanese, it tends to mean "easy," but to me it feels like it has the meaning of "straightforward."

I think it's best to make things that are simply honest.

For me, it's a way of life itself. I want to live my life accepting all sorts of things honestly. I have that strong feeling.

-Has your mindset changed since you were an independent artist and after you launched your brand?

Things have changed a lot.

When I was making objects under my own name, my focus was always on myself, pursuing what I wanted to express and what I thought was beautiful.

But since I started making it into a brand, I've started to look at the people who use it. I'm happy when people use it and are pleased with it.

So rather than making what I wanted to make, I started thinking about making what people wanted. - Are there any ideas that you value when creating your work?

I don't think there is such thing as failure. Everything is improvement.

There is always a reason for failure, and all you have to do is resolve it. By doing this over and over again, you can improve the quality of your work and also improve your time management at work. I think this applies to all aspects of life.

If there is a problem, I feel lucky to find a fix.

For example, about 10% of ceramic pieces break during the firing process. So if an order is placed for 10 pieces, we make 13. If we take this into account in advance, there's no problem.

Also, I like subtraction.

The idea is that by subtracting, you purify and polish it, and then what remains is something beautiful.

I like to think deeply about why something is the way it is, and what kind of structure it has. When you get to the bottom of it, you can see the essence of it.

There is a strong desire to eliminate all waste and leave only what is beautiful.

--Mr. Matsumoto, you also run a pottery class, don't you?

It all started when an acquaintance asked me to teach him.

I work alone in my workshop, so I said, "If it's in your free time, that's fine," and started.

Then, before I knew it, the number of students gradually increased.

Now, it brings me great joy to see my students go home with a smile on their face saying, "It was fun."

Each person has completely different needs.

Some people want to enjoy it slowly, some want to make something of high quality, and some want to make something as a gift.

It makes me really happy to be able to talk to such people and teach them my techniques and make them happy.

--So both your creative work as an artist and your classes are important to you.

Both are very important in my life.

Pottery adds color to life.

It's fun as a job, but it's also fun as a hobby. You can have fun making things and then use what you've made at home. I think this cycle is wonderful.

--Looking back on your journey so far, how do you feel?

I believe that I owe a lot to luck in getting to where I am now. Even if I had done something other than pottery, I'm sure I would still be thinking about craftsmanship and expression in the same way.

However, I feel truly blessed to have discovered pottery and been able to continue doing it as a job.

I think people change all the time. I myself have changed little by little since I discovered pottery, and it's possible that my purpose in creating and the thoughts I have while creating will continue to change in the future.

Maybe I'll go back to my roots again, or maybe I'll go in a completely different direction, but I hope to continue creating, going with the natural flow of things as they come.