1,000-year technique of Echizen-yaki pottery

I visited the pottery studio of an Echizen-yaki pottery artist Nobuyasu Kondo in Echizen Town,
Fukui Prefecture. And he showed me a traditional technique called “Nejitate”(twist and stand).
Contrary to normal work by a potter’s wheel, he forms a pottery walking round and round
the work in progress on a log base.
While walking round, he piles up thick string-shaped clay twisting it with fingers rhythmically
and adjusts the height using a wooden spatula from the outside.

I suppose that the reason for such an old technique since the Heian Period remains
after the introduction of potter’s wheel, it has been suitable for making large potteries like pots or vases. At any rate, the pot with the technique “Nejitate”, which I saw right before
my eyes, looked thin and delicate than I imagined.
(The photo above shows the lower half has just finished)

T.S