Cross-Fertilizations: Denmark and Japan
"It's good to exchange ideas ..."

Tom Eltang’s workshop has become one of the important locations for creative interplay between pipe-makers from Denmark and Japan. At the Copenhagen Pipe Show in the fall of 2004, Tom invited Tokutomi to join him for a week of work (and play) … and the visit that followed produced considerable exchange of ideas and inspiration. Among the tangible results, Tom seemed to embark upon some new experimentation with shapes and Toku began using some new wood stains. Tom and Toku also collaborated on a couple of pipes, dubbed "Tokutangs."

A year later, Tom brought Kei Gotoh to Copenhagen and during their time together, the pair made a couple of "Gotangs."

Tom and Toku’s "Tsunami":
A Pipe in Three Acts

(1) While in his workshop with Tokutomi, Tom received a trans-Atlantic phone call from Art Rupelt (Ming Tampers) in which they discussed the possibility of making a pipe in the form of a wave. After hanging up, Tom described the idea to Toku … who took up a piece of briar, and quickly gave tangible shape to their conversation.

(2) Shortly after Tokutomi had gone back to Japan, Tom returned to the "wave pipe" and made his version of the Tsunami.

(3) Back in Tokyo, Toku took a little longer to come up with his variation.

Lars Ivarsson

Toku continues to produce pipes in which he works directly with shapes developed by the Ivarssons, father and son. Lars' long-shanked pipe with off-centered Dublin bowl illustrates the kind of asymmetry that he sometimes introduces into his compositions (many of which exude what I think of as an essential, earthy quality of form – like the roots of trees). Toku’s juxtaposition of a "Larsish" long-shank with his own blowfish bowl expresses both his continued homage to the Ivarsson legacy … and (it seems to me) a little wink of puckish humor.

Perhaps as befits its rich heritage, the long-shank Toku blowfish gives a particularly fine smoke.

The "Tokuteddy" and the "Teddytomi" Pipes:
Cross-cultural, improvisatory playfulness

Teddy made the Tokutomi-ish sitter following the 2004 Copenhagen Pipe Show which Tokutomi attended; he was clearly improvising-at-the-shaping wheel around certain Tokutomi-motifs. The shank, in particularly, must rank as one of the most Japanese-inspired elements Teddy has carved (though, of course, an analogous [though, to my eye, less graceful] kind of flexibility was occasionally seen in the Danish Fancy Pipes of the 1960’s and 70’s).

This year, Tokutomi carved two pipes while thinking about the curves that are so characteristic of Teddy’s conck shape. In the second variation (not shown here), Tokutomi asymmetries predominate and "Teddy’s theme" has become quite implicit. In the first variation, however, Toku holds his composition within lines of western-style symmetry more than he usually does – and this restraint allows him to adhere more closely to the graceful swirls of the Teddy conck. Yet the elongated shank and its flexible sides, with the slight suggestion of asymmetry throughout, adds that fluid energy so characteristic of Toku’s carving. Meanwhile, the rippling contours of plateau on the bowl and shank-end convey the familiar Toku-ish tone of free improvisation … though here, the paneled surfaces add a slightly Danish sense of discipline to Toku’s improvisatory "licks," so that this Teddytomi winds up speaking with a wonderfully-nuanced "cross-cultural" voice.

Teddy and Tokutomi
Sharing the joys of playful improvisation

In last year’s show (and in an article for Pipes and Tobaccos magazine) I illustrated the creative and imaginative affinities between Tokutomi and one of the freest and most creative spirits in Danish pipe-making, Teddy Knudsen. Here I present a few of Teddy’s pipes carved after he had seen Toku’s "Gondola" and asymmetric Elephant’s Foot variation. While the shapes echo forms Teddy has carved over the course of many years, the creative spirit which informed them was unquestionable stimulated by Teddy’s deep appreciation for and enjoyment of Toku’s work.