Lighting the fire, breathing soul into Phu Lang pottery

Small but quality

Phu Lang pottery village (Que Vo district, Bac Ninh province) was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2016, famous for its large-sized eel-skin glazed ceramic products such as jars, ceramic vases, incense burners, urns, altars, etc. However, the income of Phu Lang potters is still low compared to other ceramic areas in the North. In addition, here and there in Phu Lang as well as in neighboring areas, the ceramic industry is being industrialized, the use of gas kilns is replacing traditional ceramic production with wood-fired kilns. This puts the traditional craft of handmade ceramics at risk of gradually fading away and disappearing in the near future.

On the other hand, although the number of tourists visiting the pottery village has increased, the number of unique souvenir products with high quality and good price is still very limited. Meanwhile, high-value and high-quality products and services for the upper class are an inevitable trend in the Vietnamese market.

Grasping this reality, within the framework of the Development Partnership Program of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Onimaru Setsuzan Kamamoto Company and Toho Village of Japan have coordinated with the People's Committee of Phu Lang Commune and the People's Committee of Que Vo District to implement a project to develop the pottery making profession in Phu Lang Commune for 3 years, starting from August 2021.

Mr. Tsuchimoto Amane, representative of JICA office in Vietnam, said that artisans in Phu Lang commune have mastered traditional and modern ceramic production techniques in Japanese style, improving income and at the same time enhancing the efficiency of resource use. A joint production workshop with a ceramic kiln following the traditional Japanese model has been established in Phu Lang pottery village. 80 ceramic artisan trainees from Phu Lang commune and other localities across Vietnam have been selected for training in the craft village. 14 artisans have been voted excellent among these 80 trainees.

In the past 3 years, more and more small-sized, sophisticated ceramic products targeting domestic and international consumers have been created, saving on raw materials such as clay and firewood, while still having a high price, bringing better income to those working in the profession.

Living with passion for pottery

The couple Bui Van Huan and Truong Thi Hong Thuong are two of the 9X ceramic artists who quickly became famous in Phu Lang ceramic village. As a child of Phu Lang, Huan's love for ceramics grew with him throughout his childhood. Huan graduated from the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, Faculty of Traditional Fine Arts, majoring in ceramics. Since then, Huan has continued to be attached to ceramics and created his own brand, Huan Ceramics.

Huan can talk about pottery all day long without getting bored. He always wants to create many beautiful products bearing the Vietnamese quintessence to satisfy his passion and spread the love of handmade pottery and unique Vietnamese pottery to everyone. Huan follows tradition, making handmade pottery but requires high technique and must touch emotions to bring the highest spiritual value.

“When I look at a handmade product, I can feel the emotions of the craftsman - whether they are in a hurry, hot-tempered or leisurely. Therefore, I always add stories to each shape, line, and pattern of the product, because any trace on the raw work has its own meaning. And the factors that enhance the value of handmade products are emotions, techniques, and creativity,” Huan shared.

Huan and Thuong are also two students participating in the Japanese project. Coming to the project, Huan learned more techniques in the profession from Japanese artisans, thereby gaining more multi-dimensional perspectives, from techniques to the wild or sophisticated beauty of products created from the soil, from the soul of a potter.

As for Thuong, being taught by famous ceramic experts from Japan has helped her grow and learn many techniques from a country that thrives on ceramics. Thuong loves the cultural exchange of ceramics between Vietnam and Japan, but she always focuses on the unique identity of each product and aims to develop ceramics in that style.

Making pottery allows Huan and Thuong to live with their passion and make a living from their profession. “We are behind the world, but if we focus well, we can become leaders in handmade pottery in the future. Our goal is to create a unique mark for Phu Lang craft village as well as a personal mark, to turn the country's resources into products that anyone who looks at them will know are Vietnamese pottery, and when looking at those Vietnamese pottery products, they will recognize Phu Lang's unique glaze and know they are Huan pottery,” Huan shared.

As for Hoang Thuy, ceramics came to her unexpectedly. Thuy decided to stop her fashion design career after 12 years in Ho Chi Minh City. Since joining the project, Thuy has met and felt the passion and love of Japanese teachers for ceramics, which has awakened her intense love for ceramics. Feeling the simple happiness of ceramics, Thuy found joy and being herself in a new field. Thuy believes she can make a living with ceramics. "It's not too early or too late for me to give good things to myself, to ceramics, little by little every day" - Thuy confided.

Thuong and Huan couple with their exquisite ceramic products.

Phu Lang holds back Japanese artisans

Rich natural environment, high quality ceramic materials, friendly people are the main reasons why Japanese ceramic artist - Yusuke Onimaru decided to stick with Phu Lang ceramic village. With JICA's funding, Mr. Onimaru and his colleagues came to Vietnam to help villagers diversify ceramic products and gain more experience in developing sustainable tourism through the Phu Lang ceramic village development project.

After graduating from Osaka University of Arts, Mr. Onimaru stayed at the school as a lecturer for a while, then returned to his hometown to take over his and his father's pottery workshop. His most prominent products are tea ceremony cups, supplied to famous temples in Japan, and even offered to the Emperor. His products have also been exported to many places around the world and are highly appreciated for using natural materials.

He explained that he chose Phu Lang because the craft here still has many manual elements, does not use machines, and still uses wood-fired kilns to fire pottery. "Vietnam has many good places, but I chose a good and suitable place," he said.

According to teacher Onimaru - as his students affectionately call him - the most important thing for Phu Lang is that in the future, the natural beauty and culture must still be preserved, because if lost, it cannot be regained. Besides, the handmade pottery village will be beneficial for tourism development in the future. He said that in the world and even in Japan, the pottery industry is increasingly "mechanized", but handmade products, including Phu Lang ceramic products, are still especially favored by consumers.

Mr. Onimaru's Toho village and Phu Lang village have many similarities, both are small craft villages with friendly people, so when he comes to Phu Lang, he still feels at home.

What artisan Onimaru is concerned about is helping craft villages like Phu Lang not to be lost, hoping to build Phu Lang into a large ceramic center not only in Vietnam but also famous in the world.

Source: https://laodong.vn/lao-dong-cuoi-tuan/thap-lua-thoi-hon-tinh-hoa-vao-gom-phu-lang-1374894.ldo