Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information Yamagata Prefecture--Potter Bruno Pifre has spent more than half his life in Japan perfecting his pottery art traces his lifelong “addiction to pottery,” as he describes it to when he met a ceramist as a boy in his native France He said the artist looked like a “sorcerer” to him Pifre came to Japan in 1980 and spent two years studying the intricacies of traditional Mashiko ware A by-product of that process is high quality potter’s clay Pifre said he thought everything would work out for him as a ceramic artist if he had access to the clay “I was drawn to the clay here like a magnet,” he says Oishida clay must be baked at high temperatures to achieve optimum results “I could show originality if I am able to adjust myself to the clay when I handle it,” Pifre said he thought as he tried out different approaches with his nimble fingers a process that does not require glaze to bring out color and luster are sprinkled with firewood ash during the firing at temperatures of more than 1,300 degrees Pifre uses a traditional kick wheel when he is working Among the pieces he makes are utensils for the elderly such as cups with ears that are easy to hold His works include a piggy bank in the shape of a creature conjured up from his imagination fanciful items that combine earthenware with glass or metal and pieces themed on the Great East Japan Earthquake tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 Pifre spent 15 years building his house of stone on his own He keeps a hen and sometimes goes looking for edible wild plants to pick He said his peaceful life inspires him with ideas for his works Pifre has volunteered his services to teach pottery to local elementary and junior high school children He does so in the hope that some of them will carry on what he and the other ceramist are doing “My dream is to make Oishida into a town of pottery someday,” he said Sea urchin shells find new use as pottery glaze to avoid trash heap Lamp gifted to Ukraine made by son of Hiroshima A-bomb survivor Famed potter in Kagoshima visits ancestral grave in South Korea Ancient human skull fragments in Okinawa offer missing link Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Heavy rain triggered extensive flooding in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Yamagata through Wednesday morning after a river burst its banks at several locations the prefectural government has been trying to assess the extent of flood damage along the Mogami River The land ministry has confirmed the river breached its banks at three locations in the town of Oishida as well as in Okura village with at least 80 hectares of land inundated by Wednesday morning The Mogami River is the seventh longest river in Japan and the river basin accounts for about 75 percent of Yamagata Prefecture 2 dead after mudslide following downpour in western Japan PM Abe visits rain-hit Kumamoto to assess damage for recovery measures Recovery efforts continue in southwest Japan 1 week after heavy rain around 90 homes have been damaged by the flooding and nearly 2,500 people have been evacuated Rainfall of over 150 millimeters was recorded in some areas of Yamagata in the 24 hours through Wednesday morning while the city of Nagai experienced 205 millimeters Nagai and the prefecture's two other cities of Murayama and Higashine faced record rainfall across 72 hours although it had mostly stopped by Wednesday morning The Yamagata shinkansen bullet train temporarily suspended services on Wednesday more than a dozen buildings in Hanamaki and Oshu have been flooded as of Wednesday morning To have the latest news and stories delivered to your inbox Simply enter your email address below and an email will be sent through which to complete your subscription Please check your inbox for a confirmation email Thank you for reaching out to us.We will get back to you as soon as possible National Report Heavy rains led to flooding in at least four locations along the Mogamigawa river that runs through Yamagata Prefecture The land ministry’s Shinjo Office of Rivers and Yamagata Local Meteorological Observatory announced at a little after midnight on July 28 they had confirmed flooding in Oishida town they confirmed an overflow at four locations in total in the town and Okura village 29 homes were flooded above or below floor-level A total of 88 homes were damaged in the prefecture a woman in her 90s reportedly broke her knee as she fled to safety 2,438 people had taken refuge at 180 evacuation centers across 31 municipalities Record-breaking rains hit Yamagata on July 28 with the amount of precipitation over a 24-hour period registering at 206.5 millimeters in Nagai according to the Japan Meteorological Agency The level of precipitation broke records at three observation points in the prefecture but it takes time for the rainwater to travel from the upper stream of rivers to the downstream Flooding can occur at middle reaches and downstream of rivers after the rain stops The Yamagata Local Meteorological Observatory urged residents to stay alert for more flooding throughout the day and the evening Continued heavy rain in Kyushu hampering rebuilding efforts Kumamoto overwhelmed by debris from torrential rain landslides kill at least 221 in South Asia Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser