Hiroyuki Tokutomi: Smooth Dublin (Two Snail) Tobacco Pipe

Part of the remarkable that lies within the art of Hiroyuki Tokutomi is the myriad of manners in which it mirrors nature and man's approach to the it. This doesn't simply apply to the first-glance, overt form of a composition, but the wonders that taking the time to explore a composition reveals. Much as a fast drive through forested mountains, or a sun bleached desert highway can leave the observer with a lasting, even exalting impression, but one that will be decidedly different in flavor than if they exited the vehicle and spent a few hours exploring on foot, and so it goes with a Tokutomi briar.

If one were simply to "drive by" this smooth, straight dublin they'd take away an impression of a brilliantly grained, minimalist dublin with a somewhat odd fore-cant to the bowl. Getting out of the car (and hopefully getting us all out of this thinly stretched simile) and taking time to explore this pipe, entirely new dimensions rise to meet the discerning eye. Initially, subtly melting nuances that might be considered to be Daliesque to students of Western art, and decidedly Zen to those from a different aesthetic background, become layered with gentle impressions of the organic and the poignantly placed plateau becomes the first signs of weathering on an ancient rock. Of course, closer inspection of the art doesn't make the impression of a world class grain go away, any more than taking the time to explore a clearing in a forest erodes the beauty of the trees. Quite the contrary, the appreciation enhances, doesn't it?

--Bear Graves