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ESSAY - Milgrim's Journey
Milgrim's Journey within the World of Japanese Tea
THE EARLY YEARS
Richard Milgrim's interest in ceramics began in 1974 during his first year of college at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. During the spring and
fall of 1974 he became totally engaged in foundation level ceramics classes but chose to transfer to a smaller college.
In the summer of 1975 he began his studies at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This change of scenery was the beginning of Richard's
discovery of Japan and the world of tea ceramics. During that summer Milgrim's two ceramics teachers, Karen Shirley and Michael Jones, began introducing
him to various ceramic traditions around the world, particularly those of Japan, a country they both had a special love for. During their young lives, both of
them had actually lived in Kyoto in the early 1960s when there were very few westerners there. Their experiences in Japan had a profound effect on their
lives and aesthetics. These were very generously shared with Milgrim through stories, the teaching of techniques and the actual use of their collection of Japanese pottery.
About this same time, another teacher, Professor Harold Wright, came to Antioch. Harold also had a long history with Japan, dating back to being
stationed there during the Korean War. After the war he became a scholar of Japanese culture, particularly literature, and did graduate research under
renowned Professor Donald Keene at Columbia University. He translated several books of Japanese poetry as well as writing original poetry himself.
Between the influence of these teachers as well as other Antioch students similarly captivated by the mystique of Japan, Richard was determined to go
there and experience the country for himself.
Due to the unique nature of curriculum options available to Antioch students,
Richard chose to spend a year in Japan on the Antioch Education Abroad (A.E.A.) program and was given the freedom to structure his time there
independently. He arranged to spend two months studying the language at Kansai University of Foreign Studies in Hirakata, near Kyoto, while living with a
home stay family. The remaining ten months were designated as "independent study," to research the state of traditional ceramics in contemporary Japan.
THE PILGRIMAGE
From January to December of 1977 Richard lived in Japan. The first two cold winter months were spent trying to gain an elementary grasp of formal
Japanese while living in a typical suburban community, feeling detached from the Japan he had hoped to find.
Upon completing the language intensive he took the opportunity to visit South Korea with his best friend from the (language) school, Mark Stanley.
Fortunately Mark had spent many years living in Seoul and spoke the language well. This enabled them to travel throughout the countryside where he got a real
taste of Korean culture and history. He also had the opportunity to visit traditional kiln sites, some of which have supplied pottery to Japan over the
past 500 years. It was an eye-opening adventure that further enhanced Milgrim's desire to get back to Japan and begin exploring on his own.
Upon returning Richard moved into the heart of Kyoto, the ancient capital and center of Japanese culture. From there he spent the next few months taking
short trips to pottery centers at the vicinity of Kyoto and long days walking around the old capital. These solo excursions were invaluable in familiarizing
Milgrim with not only the language but also the daily customs and lifestyles of Japan and Kyoto culture in particular. The seemingly endless variety of temples
, shrines, museums, gardens and old shops provided unlimited inspiration and the joy of new discoveries each day. At the same time the young potter-to-be
was honing his eye by seeking out the finest quality arts and traditional crafts throughout the city, a place well-known throughout the world as offering the
highest standards in all Japan.
Having established a base in Kyoto and beginning to gain some confidence in
his Japanese, Milgrim decided to begin his full-time journey around Japan, Hoping to avoid the rainy season, he decided to go north towards Hokkaido.
Leaving Kyoto in mid June with only his backpack, a guide to Japanese kiln sites and a few introductions, he hitchhiked to Mashiko, a folk pottery town
made famous as the home of HAMADA SHOJI (1894-1978) and his most famous disciple, SHIMAOKA TATSUZO (1919- ). As one of the original artisans
to be designated a NINGEN KOKUHO (Living National Treasure), by the Japanese government, Hamada was thought of as the epitome of the traditional
Japanese folk potter in the West. He was, along with KAWAI KANJIRO (1890-1966), BERNARD LEACH (1887-1979) and YANAGI SOETSU (1889-1961),
one of the founding fathers of the MINGEI-KAI (Japanese Crafts Society), in 1926.
Endowed with a brief introduction to both Hamada and Shimaoka, visiting
Mashiko proved to be one of the greatest highlights of Milgrim's year in Japan. Having the opportunity to quietly sip tea and talk (mostly in English), with the
legendary Hamada, was like a dream to the young man who came to Japan idolizing this master potter.
As it turned out, Shimaoka Tatsuzo was not only Hamada's most famous
apprentice from back in the 1940's, he was also his next door neighbor. When Richard arrived there he was shocked to find that Shimaoka's foreign
apprentice at the time was a former Antioch student, David Vitarelli. They became fast friends and Shimaoka-Sensei (teacher) unexpectedly offered
Richard the opportunity to spend a few weeks at his kiln to observe the before, during and after of a firing in the unique 4-chamber wood/salt kiln he had built.
After three weeks around the kiln in Mashiko, Milgrim decided to continue on his journey, yet in his heart Richard knew that he wanted to return. Before
leaving he received Shimaoka-Sensei's approval to come back to Mashiko at a "future date," to do a full apprenticeship.
With that he set off once again, seeking out potters and kiln sites, both old and new, throughout the four main islands of Japan. By traveling alone and
hitchhiking his Japanese improved rapidly and he was constantly overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the Japanese people he encountered on his pilgrimage.
Over the next five months Milgrim visited over a hundred potters traveling through every one of the Japanese prefectures except the islands of Okinawa.
During this touring he found three more potters with whom he seriously wanted to study. All three agreed to his request for an apprenticeship in the future, two
were in Kyushu and the other in Kyoto.
By this time it was December ('77) and despite his desire to stay in Japan and
begin an apprenticeship, he decided to return to Antioch so he could graduate the following spring before starting the next stage of his life.
BACK IN AMERICA - THE TURNING POINT
As it turned out, a series of unexpected events occurred after his return to Antioch which delayed his return to Japan until the summer of 1979. In
retrospect, that year and a half provided Milgrim with an opportunity to put his experience in Japan into perspective and consider his future options when he
returned. This resulted in a grant proposal to the Thomas J. Watson Foundation in the fall of 1978 to return to Kyoto, Japan and study "Chado" (The
Way of Tea) at the Urasenke School of Tea while doing an apprenticeship with master potter IWABUCHI SHIGEYA (1925-1993). Richard realized that despite
his love for Hamada and folk-art pottery, he was more intrigued by the tea ceramics of the 16th and 17th centuries he had seen in museums throughout
Japan. He was anxious to make tea utensils, yet he didn't know anything about the context of their function, hence his decision to study "Chanoyu" as part of
his proposal. Fortunately, Urasenke had a school at their headquarters in Kyoto which provided the only full-time program for foreign students wishing to
study "The Way of Tea" in depth. It was called the Midori-Kai.
The potter he chose to apprentice to, Iwabuchi Sensei, was a wonderful artist
-craftsman who had studied long ago with two other Living National Treasures, TOMIMOTO KENKICHI (1886-1963) and KONDO YUZO (1902-1985). Richard
had visited his studio in the southern part of Kyoto several times in the fall of 1977 and had received permission to return to study sometime in the future. In
his proposal he requested permission to work for him three days a week, spending another three at Urasenke.
While awaiting word from the Watson Foundation in the winter of 1978-79,
Milgrim returned to his home in Boston where he was introduced to the local Urasenke representative Allan Palmer, a wonderful teacher who had spent
many years studying in Kyoto. On February 29th, 1979, the 388th anniversary of the death of SEN no RIKYU, the founder of the Sen Family Tea Tradition,
Richard began his formal study of "Chado." Less than two weeks later the letter informing him that he'd been awarded the Watson Fellowship arrived.
About this same time he was given an introduction to the Director of the Japan House Gallery in New York, RAND CASTILE. The gallery was about to open a
ground-breaking show entitled "CHANOYU," featuring 100 masterpieces from Japan. It was the first major exhibition in the U.S. focusing exclusively on the
arts of the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The previous summer Milgrim had worked as an intern in the Fogg Museum at Harvard University under the famous
scholar of Japanese Art, Professor JOHN ROSENFIELD. The professor recommended him to Castile for a job during the exhibition that spring, citing
his interest in Tea and Japanese ceramics as well as his Japanese language ability.
This proved to be the "simple twist of fate" that would lead Milgrim to the next
stage of his destiny, an unexpected encounter with Dr. SEN GENSHITSU, a major cultural figure in Japan and the 15th generation Grand Master of the
Urasenke Tea Tradition. Dr. Sen was undoubtedly the most influential personality in the world of Tea at that time, not to mention the primary sponsor of the Chanoyu Exhibition.
The day before the formal opening, Milgrim was guiding his old Antioch teacher MICHAEL JONES through the exhibition. Suddenly he heard someone ask
what he was doing in the gallery. To his complete surprise he found himself face to face with the Grand Master and his wife! They too had come to preview
the show privately. Dr. Sen immediately began questioning Richard, curious to know what these two men were doing in this unguarded exhibition of priceless
tea utensils. Richard introduced his teacher first, then explained his job working as a liaison in the gallery. He went on to tell Dr. Sen that he would be
coming to Kyoto that fall to study Chanoyu at Urasenke so he would be able to better understand how to make tea ceramics.. The Grand Master then shocked
Richard by giving him his personal card and insisting he come to see him so he could introduce Milgrim to his famous potter friends throughout Japan. Little
did Milgrim realize how much this offer would affect his future.
This serendipitous moment in time began the single most important
relationship in Milgrim's career. The chemistry between he and Dr. and Mrs. Sen was both magical and yet natural at the same time. They immediately
took him under their wing and introduced him to an assortment of Japanese dignitaries, curators, and art dealers in New York for the opening. It was as if
he had been adopted by a godfather who had presented him with a key to the very world he was seeking to enter. With such a golden opportunity the future seemed pre-ordained.
RETURNING TO JAPAN
From the moment Richard returned to Kyoto as a Watson Fellow in July of 1979, things began to flow. He spent the first month participating in live-in
workshops held at the Omoto School of Traditional Arts in nearby Kameoka. It was an intensive program consisting of classes in Chadō, Budō (martial arts),
Noh dance, calligraphy, sumi-e and ceramics. The workshop was a perfect reorientation for Milgrim who'd been away from Japan for a year and a half. He
had a chance to refresh his Japanese as well as prepare psychologically and spiritually for his apprenticeship and his upcoming immersion into the world of tea.
Shortly after returning to Kyoto he visited Dr. Sen who welcomed him to his home and encouraged Richard to study hard at the studio and show him his
work. This was actually quite intimidating since he knew apprentices in Japan weren't usually given much of a chance to do their own work, especially as a
novice! To compound the problem, he was the 4th man in a 3-man studio. His primary role was to learn by watching and wait patiently for the opportunity to help.
After 4 months in the shadows, Iwabuchi-Sensei's number one deshi (apprentice) decided to begin his own studio, opening up a workspace for
Richard in January. By March of 1980, he was feeling the pressure of not fulfilling his full responsibilities, only being able to work in the studio 3 days a
week. He had learned a great deal about the Way of Tea since September and felt it was now time to begin apprenticing full-time. When he gave Dr. Sen the
news that he would be leaving the Midorikai, the Grand Master agreed that it was probably time for him to concentrate full-time on his work.
For the next year and a half Milgrim continued to study with Iwabuchi-Sensei. Periodically he showed his best work to Dr. Sen. After about a year had
passed he brought in some tea bowls which the Grand Master felt were special enough that he offered to sign the boxes for them. This marked the beginning of
Dr. Sen's literal endorsement of Milgrim's work. Upon completing his apprenticeship with Iwabuchi-Sensei in the fall of '81, Dr. Sen continued his
support by providing personal introductions for Richard to master potters in the traditional ceramic centers of HAGI, BIZEN and MINO.
From 1982 through the spring of '84, Richard lived and studied at these three Meccas in the world if tea ceramics. He was privileged to work for TAHARA
TOUBEI the 12th in Hagi, FUJIWARA YU in Bizen and KATO KOUEMON in Mino. The distinctly unique characteristics of these 3 sites provided him with a
tremendously varied foundation of clays, glazes, techniques and firing styles on which to draw when it came time for him to establish his own workshop.
After finding some land and an old country house northwest of Kyoto in the spring of 1984, he took his fiancee, MINAGAWA MARI, back to Boston for an
American style wedding. By mid-summer they returned to Japan and began the process of creating a useable home and studio before winter. The following
spring Richard and another "local" foreign potter, SOREN UBISCH from Norway, began building a single-chamber oil and wood-fired kiln similar to one that was
used by his teacher in HAGI, TAHARA TOUBEI the 12th.
When it came time to name the new studio Milgrim felt he should consult with
Dr. Sen. He had considered using the name of his village or even the local town, a typical option when choosing a name for a new kiln. The grand Master felt
otherwise. He insisted on naming the kiln RICHADO-GAMA (  ) using the characters he had chosen to write Richard's name in Japanese, followed by
the character for kiln. Because the name "Milgrim" was so difficult for the Japanese to pronounce he had always been know by his first name, which they
pronounced Richado. In 1984 Dr. Sen decided to assign characters to his name that worked phonetically. The ones he chose were RI (  ), taken from
Sen no Rikyu, his own 15th generation ancestor and the originator of the Sen family, CHA (  ), meaning tea, and DO (  ), meaning earth or clay. The
coincidental nature of his characters being so perfectly aligned with his true name as well as his life's work was another sign to Richard that his destiny
had been chosen for him by some other power totally beyond his control. Dr. Sen undoubtedly felt the same way when he chose to name the kiln after Richard, a very rare honor indeed.
For the next 15 years Milgrim followed his passion to create tea wares which combined the best of the historical works with his unique perspective. He
exhibited throughout Japan at temples, museums, galleries and Department Stores, establishing a particularly strong relationship with the Takashimaya
Department Store group, having an annual showing at at least one of their branches. His work has been selected for various international exhibitions and
won a number of prizes in juried shows in Japan as well as being regularly selected for the JAPAN NATIONAL CERAMIC EXHIBITION (NIHON TOGEI-TEN) every two years.
In 2000, Richard decided to establish a second workshop at his home base in the Boston area while also maintaining his studio in Japan, going back and
forth between the two. He set up a studio in a community art center near his new home in Concord, Ma, named the "EMERSON UMBRELLA." There he has
been experimenting with native U.S. clay and glazes which he is now showing on a limited basis, both in the U.S. and Japan.
In the fall of 2004, Dr. Sen once again honored Milgrim by giving him the name KONKO-GAMA (  ), for the works created and fired at his studio in
Concord. He used characters which phonetically echo the sound of Concord (when it is spoken in Japanese), not to mention having meanings which can be
directly associated with Richard and his current situation: KON (  ) meaning new, current, the present or contemporary, and KO (  ) meaning old, the past or traditional and KAMA or GAMA (  ) meaning kiln, , KONKO-GAMA.
The primary reference in this case seems to be connecting Milgrim's new work made in Concord, which refers to the present or new styles and glazes, with
his work done in Japan up to now, which represents the past or traditional styles of tea ceramics. Of further significance though, is the inclusion of the character KON ( ), which is the first character in KONNICHI-AN (  ),
the ancestral home of Dr. Sen's family for the past 350 years, further deepening the bond between Milgrim and the Sen Family.
For more information and perspectives on Richard Milgrim and his career please see other statements and articles:
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