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A dark washi art piece hangs on a wall of white washi, two ceramic vases sit to the floor on the left hand side
Wataru Hatano, Paper Dreams
Just to the north of the city of Kyoto, in a place where the land has succumbed to the mountains and the proliferation of forest and farmland have turned the horizon a sultry shade of emerald, there is a workshop hidden in an old cattle barn.

Bundles of grass and dusty blue buckets belie a space that perhaps is the personification of Wataru Hatano himself. A secreted stillness filled with art, pieces that are finished and those that are not so, tools and a kettle, a collection of just-so ceramics. There’s much to look at, yet everything seems to be in its rightful place.

A softness fills the room, a faultless complement to Mr. Hatano’s character and creativity. Sheets of washi (a kind of decorative paper traditionally handmade in Japan) lie strewn into piles around the candle-lit studio, tiny ceramic tea cups sit welcoming us atop a washi table. Mr. Hatano’s artworks hang on walls of washi, each absorbing and reflecting what light reaches them from the quivering flame of the candle and a small crack in the barn door, seeping into the smooth and accentuating the tactile.

'Washi itself can contain light,' Mr. Hatano explains whilst pouring tea, 'it gives you a feeling of richness and happiness.' A true visionary, he is humble, verging almost on self-doubting, yet the joy of being immersed in the effortless beauty of his works is plain for even him to see. Maybe my doe-eyed delight gave the game away.

Editor’s Note:

Special thanks goes to Tina and Hana of POJ Studio for their introduction to Wataru Hatano. POJ Studio is a lifestyle brand that helps foster a sustainable ecosystem within Japan's crafts industry by highlighting the stories of the craftspeople with whom they work, bridging the gap between them and an international market.

WORDS
Rachel E T Davies
PHOTOS
Rachel E T Davies