位於京都五条通路上的商業大廈裡，有一家名為Gallery Yamahon的藝廊；店主山本忠臣的眼光很好，每次探訪時，都會發現令人怦然心動的物品，而我就是在那兒首次遇到津田清和的玻璃作品。津田清和的玻璃，氣質纖細卻堅強，你不會用晶瑩剔透來形容它們，在那些泛著淡淡的灰、青與棕色的器物裡，彷彿混雜了哪個久遠時代的雜質，叫你不自覺追溯它們的過往。
今年才不過43歲的津田清和，唸大學三年級時，在一次學校旅行中去到北海道小樽，於當地的玻璃工場作口吹玻璃的體驗，想不到這次短短的體驗，卻改變了他未來的路向。原本唸法律的他，被玻璃工藝深深打動，教他熱愛的並非玻璃之美，而是工匠們在火爐前以鐵管吹出一件件玻璃製品的情景。
看津田清和的作品時，似乎能夠看到一套完整的美學，這大概不是透過精湛的技術而表現出來的；對他而言，技術也非最重要的。在一次訪問中，他說：「只要花時間的話，誰也能有好技術，但只有技術是無法感動別人的。帶點業餘的感覺很重要；或者說，即使技術拙劣，也總有教人心動的元素。」
Gallery Yamahon is an art gallery situated in one of the commercial buildings on Kyoto Gojo. The excellent taste of gallery owner Tadaomi Yamamoto never ceases to impress. Whenever I walk into the shop, there’s always something that captivates me. This is the very place where I had my first encounter with Kiyokazu Tsuda’s glass designs. Glasswares designed by Tsuda are delicate and yet strong. Unlike the common glassware of crystal clear outlook, one can see traces of grey, turquoise and brown in Tsuda’s work. The faint shades of colour in his works always remind you of a long gone past and tempt people to imagine their history spontaneously.
The 43-year-old Kiyokazu Tsuda visited Otaru in Hokkaido during a school trip in his third year in university. The brief acquaintance with glass blowing he got from a local workshop during the trip was a turning point of his future. Tsuda, who was a law student back then was greatly moved by the craftsmanship of glassware. The beauty of glassware is apparent, but what truly inspired Tsuda was the picture of artisans sitting in front of the fireplace, blowing out pieces of glassware through steel tubes.
Kiyokazu Tsuda’s design demonstrates a consistent belief of an aesthetic. Tsuda seems to agree that such aesthetic is not to be constructed through skills and techniques. In one of his interviews, Tsuda says, “All you need to do to develop good skill is to invest time and effort, but technique itself cannot reach people’s heart. Retaining the sense of being an amateur is in a certain way essential; to put it another way, one can be poor in skills but gifted in touching people’s heart.”
