One of the most inspiring parts of my trip to Japan was visiting lots of modern utsuwa shops. The Japanese word utsuwa literally means “vessel” or “container”, and usually refers to any kind of cup, plate, dish, or pot. Basically all of my favourite things! I suppose utsuwa is fairly close to our word tableware, but utsuwa seems to possess an onomatopoeic quality of softness and roundness, which almost mimics the shapes of the objects it signifies.

Utsuwa is quietly revered as an essential part of daily life in Japan and we visited several beautiful shops that I didn’t want to leave. The spaces blurred the lines between a shop and a gallery and I really loved the calm art of display.

Of course the pottery was very inspiring too and it has helped give me confidence in my own direction. Too often I feel potters are made to think we should concentrate on making large decorative items, but my love is almost entirely for the small and useful pot.

A few of my favourites shops were Utsuwa Monotsuki and Ouchi Kyoto as well as the many different small shops in Mashiko.