MY First visits to Japanese Pipe-makers
(and a quick trip to Kyoto)

On these pages, I am posting preliminary versions of some favorite images from my trip, but because many of the pictures posted here will appear in magazines and other publications, I must ask that, for now, readers refrain from copying them to their own computers.

Please enjoy these preview photos only when visiting The Briar Gallery.  Do not reproduce them in any way.  Thank you.

Tokutomi as "dentist"

One of Tokutomi's Dremels is driven by compressed air, which makes his desk sometimes resemble that of a dentist.  (But what dentist sands his patients' teeth after he's drilled?)  The rest of Toku's workshop is filled with sophisticated new tools that allow him to work with great speed and efficiency.

Satou, "Samurai Pipe-maker"

Satou-san's workshop occupies a small upstairs room in his Tokyo home.  He says he hasn't room for a band-saw and so does rough-cutting on his briar blocks with a sword-saw.  (Interesting fact:  Japanese blades only cut when drawn towards the body.)

Gotoh and the Tao of sanding

Only a portion of Kei Gotoh's workshop is devoted to pipe-making, since he spends part of his time making plastic models for automobile and camera companies.  But Kei's most intense and rewarding work occurs when he focuses his energies on briar.  A thoughtful and painstaking craftsman, Kei has lined his studio with tools, books (from technical to literary - Kei's loves haiku), and other objects that inspire his creativity.

T. and S. Arita:  the family business

Takeo Arita does an extraordinary amount of his pipe-making with hand-tools in his small Tokyo apartment.  When he needs to use larger power tools, he travels to his father's workshop.  Shizuo Arita is a retired businessman whose charming, asymmetrical pipes are very popular in Japan.  Takeo uses several of his father's unusual pipe-making techniques - for example, cutting the tobacco chamber with a hand-drill instead of a lathe or a drill-press. (See photo below.) Father and son also shape the inside of their mouthpieces in a distinctive way and they share briar and stains.  It's fascinating to see the very different pipe designs that the two Aritas come up with, notwithstanding their similarities in method and material.

Ichi Kitahara:  Native Americans and Harley Davidsons

Ichi Kitahara studied leather craft and metal work from Native Americans in the Dakotas before starting work as a pipe-maker.  His small workshop contains memorabilia from his American journeys, including a stool made from the seat of a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  (He currently rides another Harley to his full-time job as a Sushi chef and restaurant administrator.)  Ichi's favorite pipe-makers are his teacher and mentor, Tokutomi, and Teddy Knudsen.

Yuki Tokutomi:  Pipe-maker and mother-to-be

Yuki Tokutomi has taken a break from pipe-making as she is expecting her first child in mid-December.  She intends to return to her briar carving as soon as she can.  Meanwhile, her fame in Japan has grown due to a series of articles and television reports about her work.