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2024.10.17
A HUMAN : HAFU MATSUMOTO

 

竹工芸家 松本破風

「竹の美しさは、節にある。青い竹はそれそのもので十分美しい。その命を断つのだから、しなやかさ、美しさを永遠に工芸作品に封じ込めたい」

竹工芸家・松本破風は、天才と謳われた飯塚琅玕斎の孫弟子として20歳で飯塚小玕斎(人間国宝)の弟子となり、半世紀以上にわたり竹という素材と格闘し続けている。

居合術を嗜み、時に武士のような厳しさで頑強な竹と格闘するかと思うと、愛猫を愛でる好々爺のような優しさで、竹のしなやかさに寄り添う。シンプルな作品のなかにその寛厳さが共存し、作り手の勢いと気品を匂い立たせる。

竹は古来より日本の文化と深く関わり、青々とまっすぐ天に伸びるその姿は、清廉さや縁起の良さを表す。

Hafu Matsumoto / Bamboo craftsman

The beauty of bamboo lies in its joints. The blue bamboo is already quite beautiful. Since I am going to cut off its life, I would like to contain its suppleness and beauty forever in my craftwork if that is acceptable.
Bamboo craftsman Matsumoto Hafu had the privilege of becoming a disciple of Iizuka Shokansai (a living national treasure) at the age of 20. He is the grandson of the highly esteemed Iizuka Rokansai. He has dedicated more than half a century to exploring the potential of bamboo as a material.
He has been engaged with bamboo for over half a century. He is a skilled practitioner of Iaijutsu (iaido) and sometimes grapples with the resilience of bamboo with the precision of a samurai, but at other times he is as gentle as an affectionate grandfather who loves his cat and nestles into the flexibility of bamboo. The dignity coexists in the simplicity of the work, and the vigor and elegance of the creator are apparent.
Bamboo has long been a prominent feature of Japanese culture, with a rich history dating back to ancient times. Its graceful, unbroken, and serene form is often seen as a symbol of purity and good fortune.

 

 

「竹はすべてを教えてくれます。まったく思うように曲がらない日もあれば、突然素直に道筋を示してくれる日もある。同じ1本の竹の中にも性格があり、土に近い分は硬く、空に伸びる先端の方は柔らかい。まるで意志を持っているかのように太陽に向かって生えているもの、風に身を委ねて自由に枝を伸ばしているもの。まさに生命を相手にしているのだと教えられる日々です」

Bamboo tells us everything. Some days it doesn’t bend the way I want it to, and other days it suddenly shows me the way in a straight line. Even within a single bamboo, there are different personalities: the part close to the ground is hard, while the top that reaches to the sky is soft. Some grow toward the sun as if they have a will, while others yield to the wind and spread their branches freely. Every day I am taught that we are really dealing with life.

 

 

「美しいものを作るには、美しい道具を使わなければならない。というの師の教え。作品も道具も、面白くないと」
そう言って軽やかに見せる笑顔に、自ら道を極めてきた者だからこそ持ち得る自信と柔軟さが滲む。
やはり、人がモノが作るのだ。

To make something beautiful, you must use beautiful tools. To make something beautiful, you have to use beautiful tools. Both the work and the tools must be interesting.
The light smile on his face shows the confidence and flexibility that only someone who has mastered his craft can possess.
After all, interesting people make interesting things.