Aigame, Indigo Vat

This is ai-game, a large pottery made exclusively for indigo dyeing.

Ai means indigo, and game means a pottery. The photo above was taken the end of last year when it was brought to my studio.

A man checking its positioning is Mr. Mori who is a potter and runs Mori Pottery in Tokushima. The pottery is known as Otani yaki. There are several Otani potteries but only two of them have been taking over the technique of making such a large one for generations.

Please take a look at his web page, http://goinjapanesque.com/21164/ , you will learn how to make such a large pot by a pair of craftsmen.

The pottery is about 1 meter tall, and the diameter is about 80 centimeters. It is an about 300-liter-container, so you can get inside and play hide and seek! The clay is from the local although most potteries get from different prefectures or other countries.

Indigo dyeing in Tokushima has been a strong connection with the Otani ware for a long time. There are several reasons why indigo dyers has been using

The shape

The area of the mouth part is quite small considering its large capacity.

It is important not to expose indigo dyeing liquid to air as much as possible to keep the best condition.

The heat retention

Otani pottery can keep ideal temperature for indigo since it is thick. It is easier control the condition of indigo compare to plastic containers.

Ingenious without spilling

The mouth of the pottery is so well designed. It is made that the stirring liquid tends to move inside, not go outside and spill out.

There is one more important thing that I use the Otani pottery.

I don't want to lose the tradition of both indigo dyeing and Otani pottery. I'm glad if someone gets interested in indigo dyeing and the pottery through my activities. If he or she is a person who takes over the tradition, more and more people will get affected from him.

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