In Uji, Kyoto, I was given the opportunity to experience “rokuro” (a Japanese word meaning a potter’s wheel).

The teacher was the gorgeous Mr. Toyosai Matsubayashi, the 16th generation of Asahi Pottery.
While carrying on the 400-year tradition of tea ceramics, he is challenging himself to do something new.
https://bnl.media/2018/07/Matsubayashi-Housai.html

He taught me how to deal with the “rokuro” in a way that was easy to understand even for a complete novice.
First of all, although I understood it in my head, when I actually tried it, the soil did not listen to me at all.
An hour passed quickly as I played with the soil.
Hmmm, several steps harder than SAP!

Apparently, instead of trying to control the soil with human will, we have to accept the soil’s will as it pleases. It seems that

When they realize the relationship between the two, they try to form a shape with a little bit of soil. More than two hours of struggle. I became a little more at ease with the soil.

When I see the difference between what people think the finished product will look like and what it actually looks like, I am frustrated, but I realize that “the difference” is the reality. I can understand. It is the same as reality. It is the same for professionals. I think professionalism exists in the struggle between giving up and pursuing the ideal.
The Rokuro experience is similar to Zen in that it is about “living in the present moment.

It was an exciting day.

https://asahiyaki.com/

↓The following are, of course, professionally finished works.