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Look at That Pot!

Ishikawa National College of Technology

N: Hi!
Y: Hi!
N: I have something to show you. Look at that!
Y: Wow what a huge pot!
H: This is the world’s largest earthenware. It’s 4.5 meters tall, and is located in our prefecture, Ishikawa.
Y: So, why are you showing me this?
N: Oh, yes! Let me explain. Mr. Tatsuo Haisoto, who is our grandfather’s brother, made it with the help of about 250 people.
Y: That’s amazing. He must be a great potter!
H: No, actually he is a woodworker, who was designated as one of the living national treasures of Japan last year!
Y: Really? So… you are saying a woodworker made this big pot? Why?
N: We wondered the same thing. So we interviewed him.
H: From what he told us, we would like to show you two stories on how we can become accomplished engineers like him.
N: The first story is about how we can be creative like him.
H: At the interview, first, I asked him, “Why are you interested in such a variety of fields?” He answered, “Because it’s fun. Do whatever you want, no matter what kind of field it belongs to.”
N: Please have a look at this. I’ll tell you a story about how this is related to me though my major is IT. My friends and I produced these artistic works called “Machiya Tourou” last summer.
These wooden buildings are called machiya, traditional merchant’s houses located in Kanazawa. In this activity we tried to combine advanced digital arts and tradition to produce reactions and surprises.
Y: Please explain what you did and how you did it.
N: Sure. We took hundreds of pictures of the area for the show; pictures of alleys, rivers, or whatever we thought beautiful. Then we put up bed sheets on the walls of the machiya like this and projected the pictures on them.
Y: So why did you choose the machiya as the place for showing your artwork even though you’re not majoring in architecture?
N: Well, I thought it was a chance to apply my hobby, taking pictures to the area’s traditional culture to make creative works.
Y: What did you think after you did it?
N: After the show, I made up my mind to do an internship in Tokyo next year. The company is basically an IT company, but it’s composed of many other kinds of experts including architects and mathematicians. They’re combining things from different fields.
Y: Come to think of it, electric vehicles are a combination of Mechanics and Electronics. This field is called “Mechatronics.” Recently I tried out a newly introduced electric vehicle, I understood how both mechanics and electronic engineering are needed to produce such cars. When it comes to creating something new, it’s becoming more and more necessary to have adequate knowledge of diverse fields.
N: By expanding their horizons, “Machiya Tourou” and the idea of the IT company gave us some creative solutions. So in summary, once we have come to understand different fields,
Y: we can combine them to create new things.
H: In this way we can broaden our horizons. It’s like making plates.

H: Next, I’ll answer the second question how he mastered woodworking. Our great uncle, Mr. Haisoto was born and grew up in a rural area. He started working as a woodworker at the age of 15, the same age as my entering Kosen. By being familiar with clays and different kinds of woods, he came to understand those raw materials, which he later used for handcrafts.
N: Whenever he tries to create something, he always learns from studying different natural materials, or looking at others’ work. For example, this woodwork is designed using Yukitsuri as seen in this picture from Kenroku-en Garden. His creations reflect his hard work and keen intuitiveness.
Y: So, he has learned from actual hands on experience, right?
H: Exactly. He says “To make valuable things, you’ve got to learn from the actual objects, not just from textbooks.” In short there’s much to learn in the real world.
Y: What do you mean?
N: He claims that textbooks just describe objects superficially, therefore it’s hard to fully understand. In other words, we can understand how to make things better by looking at authentic objects outside the campus.
H: I’ve taken classes on designing wooden houses based on textbooks. After the interview, I decided to take a tour by myself to understand the process better.
Y: That’s wonderful! Tell me about where you went.
H: OK. I visited a site where an old house was being rebuilt. One of the architects working there told me the old techniques are superior to the modern ones in some ways. I was allowed to go upstairs. As you can see, if I had only stayed on campus, I would never have come across such an interesting situation. Through the tour, I learned a lot about my major, architecture.
Y: I had a similar experience outside Kosen when I did research on technology that can assist the elderly. I really felt nursing care robots would become more and more important in the future. To invent truly valuable products, we engineers must give our ears to such users through doing fieldwork. I totally agree with you.

H: By looking carefully at old buildings, I learned about my field more deeply. So in other words, once we have come to experience things in practice,
Y: We can learn more about our own major.
N: In this way we can deepen our knowledge without textbooks. It’s like making vases.

H: We’ve talked about how we can be creative engineers telling you those two stories based on our experiences.
N: First, we can expand our possibilities by having interests in various kinds of fields like making plates.
H: Second, we should learn not only from textbooks but also from real world experience to learn more like making vases.
N: Wait, is that really necessary to do? You’d better have a wider range of knowledge, or you won’t be able to keep up with the latest technology.
H: No, we are studying in specialized education. We should focus on our own fields or we’ll never become masters!

Y: OK, I understood both of you are right. So why not use both ideas? I think we can replace those two ideas with one thing; the huge pot. “Wider mouth” refers to having wider outlooks and “deeper bottom” refers to making an extensive study of a specialized field.
H: That’s a good idea!
N: Mr. Haisoto has mastered not only woodworks but also all kinds of handcrafts in which he has been interested. “The world’s largest earthenware” may symbolize his originality, wide-opened horizon, and profound specialization.
Y: How will your pot look in the future?
N: Plates?
H: Vases? It’s up to you.
Y: Look at that pot! Thank you.