Kutani porcelain At Matsumoto Sakame’s workshop, he studied such conventional techniques as those for making antiquated Kutani replications, Yoshida-ya replications, as well as the aka-e techniques. Following this, he created his characteristic Shinko glaze. He also taught such pupils as the second and third generation Yasokichis, along with Asakura Isokichi. As of today, he is renowned as a leader in dyed pottery figure glaze. In 1953, he became the first figure in Kutani ware to become designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (a Living National Treasure). His works became highly valued for being ceramics made with refined coloring techniques and precision, and are still traded for large sums on the market.
Hamada Shoji 濱田庄司 1894-1978 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1955
Hamada Shoji was a renowned craftsman and representative figure in modern Japanese pottery. Born in Tokyo in 1894, he resolved to become a potter while still a student at Furitsuicchu (the Tokyo First Prefectural Jr. High School, Hibiya high school at present). After studying ceramics at the Tokyo Higher Technical School (present-day Tokyo Institute of Technology), Hamada joined the Kyoto Municipal Ceramic Laboratory, where he would meet his lifelong friend, Kawai Kanjiro. As Hamada later summarized the narrative arc of his career, “I found the path in Kyoto, began my journey in England, studied in Okinawa, and developed in Mashiko.” In 1920, he accompanied Bernard Leach to England where he began his practice as a potter. When the time came to return home to Japan, he sought a quiet life in the countryside, and situated himself in the town of Mashiko in 1924. During this period, he also made an extended sojourn in Okinawa, which became the inspiration for a large number of works. In 1930, he relocated the building which would later become the main residence of his compound (later donated to the Ceramic Art Messe Mashiko), and in the years up until 1942, transplanted many traditional old houses onto the premises to create a workshop and residence. It was from this base that he founded the Mingei folk-art movement along with cohorts Yanagi Soetsu and Kawai Kanjiro, which was to have a significant impact on the Japanese craft world. In 1955, Hamada was recognized along with Tomimoto Kenkichi et. Al. as an inaugural recipient of the Japanese government’s “Preserver of Important Intangible Cultural Properties” (Living National Treasure) designation, and in 1968, became the third potter to be awarded the prestigious Order of Culture. The Mingei Movement The Mingei (folk-art) movement was initiated by Yanagi Soetsu, Kawai Kanjiro, and Hamada Shoji in 1926 (Taisho 15) as an approbation of functional craftwork used by the masses in the course of daily life. At the time, the craft world was dominated by decorative pieces prized for their aesthetic value. In response, Yanagi and cohorts promoted the quotidian lifestyle implements handmade by anonymous craftsmen as mingei (“craft of the common folk”), arguing that such works have a beauty that rivals fine art, for beauty can be found in the everyday. A further pillar of the movement introduced a “new way of looking at beauty” and “aesthetic values” via the notion that crafts born from the local practices and rooted in the rhythms of the rural regions of Japan embody a utilitarian, “healthy beauty.” Their ideology was, in many ways, related to the era, marked as it was by the advance of industrialization and tandem gradual influx of mass produced products into the sanctum of daily life. Troubled by the loss of “handicraft” across Japan, the Mingei movement warned against the easy progression of modernization/Westernization. In this way, the Mingei movement served as a vehicle for the artists to pursue the question of what constituted a good life, rather than simply a life rich in material wealth. Mongama A kiln of Mashiko-ware pottery headed by Hamada Shoji. Since establishing the kiln in 1931, Hamada and his apprentices have presented many works in succession using Mashiko traditions and materials. Mashiko’s recent rise to prosperity as a major production area for folk-craft ceramics has been greatly influenced by the ceramic-making activities of this site. Hamada’s achievements were recognized in 1955, when he was designated as the first individual holder of Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure). Following his death, Hamada’s son Shinsaku took over the kiln and has been teaching highly reputed potters. https://japanese-ceramics.com/%e6%bf%b1%e7%94%b0%e5%ba%84%e5%8f%b8-hamada-shoji/ Hamada Shoji was designated a Living National Treasure in 1955 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dji_Hamada
Tōyō Kaneshige金重陶陽 1896-1967 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1956
Bizen-yaki Born into the Kaneshige family, one of the six kilns of Bizen, as the son of wakigama-style potter Kaneshige Baiyo, Toyo was trained by his father from early childhood and became adept at pottery techniques, with handicrafts and engraved ornaments being his particular specialty. He further devoted himself to the study of kiln construction. In 1921, he built a German-style map kiln, allowing him to successfully fire kiln-effect pottery (yohen-mono). He went on to study pottery clay as well, successfully recreating the sheen of Momoyama-period Bizen pottery in 1930. In 1939, he also succeeded in firing scarlet-stroke (hidasuki) kiln-effect pottery. In this way, he devoted himself to the restoration of traditional Bizen pottery and became the founder of modern Bizen pottery. Also in this period, he held his first solo exhibition in 1936; founded the “Karahine Society” together with Arakawa Toyozo, Miwa Kyuwa, and Kawakita Handeishi in 1942; was certified as an Authorized Preserver of a Craft also in 1942; was selected as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 1952; founded the Tori Society in Tori, Izusan, together with Ishiguro Munemaro, Kato Hajime, Arakawa Toyozo, and Kato Tokuro in 1954; and was certified as an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage (Living National Treasure) for his Bizen pottery in 1956. japanese-ceramics.com/kaneshige-toyo-%e9%87%91%e9%87%8d%e9%99%b6%e9%99%bd/
Keisuke Serizawa芹沢銈介 1895-1984 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1956
Textiles Kataezome
Kitaoji Rosanjin 1883-1959 Declined status of Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1959
Fujiwara Kei 藤原啓 1899-1983 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1970
Bizen-yaki. Starting out with a passion for literatary studies, Fujiwara began submitting haiku and poems throughout his elementary and junior high school years to various publications and winning awards for some of his submissions. Leaving for Tokyo at the age of 19, he began working as an editor for Hakubunkan while also attending university and was producing poems under the pen name Fujiwara Keiji. However, due to poor health, he abandoned his aspirations of becoming a writer of literature and returned to his hometown in 1973. After returning home, Fujiwara began to practice pottery at the suggestion of Manyoshu scholar Masamune Atsuo, going on to become the apprentice of Bizen potter Mimura Umekage. Getting his first kiln in 1939, Fujiwara then started out on his own, and thanks to the guidance of Kanashige Toyo as well as deepening his understanding of the unique ko-bizen style of pottery, he developed works in the solemn style of Momoyama and Kamamura period ceramics. After the war he was recognized as a conservator of bizen ware techniques in 1948, was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture in 1954, became a regular member of the Japan Kogei Association in 1956, and in 1970 became the second person to be designated a Living National Treasure for bizen ware pottery after Kanashige Toyo. In addition to this, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun 4th Class in 1972, received the Miki Memorial Award from Okayama Prefecture in 1973, and was also awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure 3rd Class on the day of his death in 1983 japanese-ceramics.com/fujiware-kei-%e8%97%a4%e5%8e%9f%e5%95%93/
Muan Nakazato 中里無庵 Nakazato Muan (Nakazato Tarouemon 12th) 中里無庵 (十二代中里太郎右衛門) 1895-1985 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1976
Karatsu-yaki He was the second son of the 11th generation Tarouemon, but his older brother went down a different path and Shigeo came to inherit the house. He gained a grasp of the basic rules of pottery at Arita Technical School, and then at Karatsu Kiln Industry Corporation and Karatsu Brick Corporation after graduation, where he worked as an engineer. After that, he temporarily became an adopted heir of the Mutsuro family, who were lumber dealers, but following his father’s death in 1924, he succeeded the name as the 12th generation Tarouemon in 1927, and in the following year of 1928, he reconstructed the Ochawan kiln that had been used since the feudal government era and built a new downdraft style coal kiln. Additionally, in 1929, he began the excavation of the old Karatsu kiln remains. From that point onward, he researched old Karatsu ware, which had died out for a long time, and endeavored to revive it, completing the beating technique and being acknowledged as an Intangible Cultural Property for Karatsu ware in 1955 and receiving the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1967, the Fourth Class Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1969 and the Western Japan Culture Award in 1970. Furthermore, he was acknowledged as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) for Karatsu ware in 1976. Also, during this time, he entered the Buddhist priesthood at Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto, was bestowed the name: Muan, and retired in 1959. In the same year, he had his eldest son, Tadao, succeed the name as the 13th generation Nakazato Tarouemon. From that point onward, he devoted himself to creating his original pottery. japanese-ceramics.com/nakazato-muan-nakazato-tarouemon-12th-%e4%b8%ad%e9%87%8c%e7%84%a1%e5%ba%b5-12%e4%bb%a3-%e4%b8%ad%e9%87%8c%e5%a4%aa%e9%83%8e%e5%8f%b3%e8%a1%9b%e9%96%80/
Uichi Shimizu 清水卯一 1926-2004 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1985
Tetsugusuri x
Kinjo Jiro 金城次郎 1912-2004 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1985
Ryukyuan Pottery
chano-yu.com/famous-japanese-potters-and-marks/#kinjo-jiro tsuboya pottery Born in Naha. Began working with ceramics at the age of 13, studying under Hamada Shoji. Later apprenticed at a kiln-equipped shop that produced ceramics typically representative of Okinawa. Went independent in 1972. Certified as a prefectural intangible cultural technology property holder for Okinawan ceramics. Recipient of the Okinawa Times Art Award, Japan Folk Art Museum Award, Kokugakai Exhibition Excellence Award, Modern Master Craftsman Exhibition Labor Minister’s Award, many others. Permanent installation at the Romanian National Folk Art Museum. Exhibited at the Japan Ceramics Masters Exhibition. The Okinawa Crafts Exhibition (sponsored by the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto), and the Okinawa Prefecture Designated Intangible Cultural Properties and Crafts Exhibition. Solo exhibitions at Okayama Tenmaya, Matsuya Ginza, Seibu Ikebukuro, and others. Ryukyu pottery was designated a nationally-important intangible cultural property (national treasure), the first such designation in Okinawa. Primarily focused on painting atop engravings of fish and crustaceans. japanese-ceramics.com/kinjo-jiro-%e9%87%91%e5%9f%8e%e6%ac%a1%e9%83%8e/
Kondo Yuzo 1902-1985 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1985
Imaemon Imaizumi XIII 今泉今右衛門(13代) 1926-2001 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1989
Iroe x
Kōsei Matsui 松井康成 1927-2003 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1993
Neriage
Takuo Katō 加藤卓男 1917-2005 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1995
Sansai
His father was Kato Kobei the 5th, who presided over the Maruko Pottery Company. Purchased by the government for the Nitten Special Prize. Awarded the Modern Craft Prize at the Japan Modern Crafts Exhibition. Awarded the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition Ceramics Prize. Awarded the Tokai TV Culture Award for his research on ancient Persian ceramics, and the Chunichi Culture Award for his teaching and training of Mino ceramics. Councilor and judge at the Japan Modern Industrial Exhibition, the Chunichi International Exhibition, and the Nitten exhibition. President of the Mino Ceramic Society. Councilor of the Japan Federation of Industry and Commerce, and others. Mainly working in Mino and luster painting. After nearly 20 years of trial and error, he succeeded in reproducing the luster glaze process, which had been a mystery for many years. Luster glaze is a type of 9th-14th century Islamic pottery in which patterns are painted with copper, silver, or other oxides over a white tin lead glaze fired in a low-fire reduction firing process to produce a subdued luster similar to that of gold. Awarded a Living National Treasure in 1995. His son, Kato Yasuhide, is the 7th Kato Kobei. The 6th Kato Kobei is absent. japanese-ceramics.com/kato-takuo-%e5%8a%a0%e8%97%a4%e5%8d%93%e7%94%b7/
Tatsuzō Shimaoka 島岡 達三 1919-2007 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1996
Folk Pottery (Jōmon)
Born in 1919 (eighth year of the Taisho era), the eldest son of Shimaoka Yonekichi, a braid maker from Atago, Tokyo. In his third year of high school, inspired by works of Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji he had witnessed at the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, he resolved to become a potter. In 1939, he enrolled in the ceramics department at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The following year, he visited Mashiko to meet with Hamada, who agreed to accept Shimaoka as his apprentice. However, in 1942, following the breakout of the Pacific War, Shimaoka joined a group of combat engineers in Akabane and was sent to Burma the next year. During this time, he still cared deeply about pottery and regularly carried a Shino tea bowl with him. After returning to Japan in 1946, Shimaoka began his studies under Hamada. Shimaoka worked at the Tochigi Prefecture Ceramic Training Center from 1950 to 1953, after which he settled in Mashiko and set up his own pottery, firing up his kiln for the first time in 1954. With instructions from Hamada to quickly develop a personal touch, Shimaoka’s practice eventually led to the birth of the Jomon Zogan style of pottery. The inspiration for this came from a fusion of two sources dating back to Shimaoka’s time at the Ceramic Training Center: the decorations found on earthenware from the Jomon era, which Shimaoka had researched to create educational models, and the mishimade, a type of tea bowl made with the Zogan method from the Korean kingdom of Joseon. What made this concept come together for Shimaoka was the silk braids he had grown up watching his father make. Jomon Zogan pottery was formed by putting white slip into rope patterns, which could be made through these very braids. Shimaoka’s Jomon Zogan crafts won plaudits for their beauty and power at private exhibitions both in Japan and abroad. In 1996, he was recognized as a preserver of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of mingei (folk) pottery and Jomon Zogan. He passed away in 2007.
Tatsuzo Shimaoka was designated a Living National Treasure in 1996, the second potter from Mashiko (the first being Hamada Shoji). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatsuz%C5%8D_Shimaoka
Osamu Suzuki 鈴木藏 1934- Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1994
Born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure for bizen ware Fujiwara Kei, after graduating from university, Fujiwara worked for a time as a magazine editor, but was convinced by his father and Oyama Fujio to return home where he began his tutelage in ceramics under his father. After this, Fujiwara went on to produce work after work, presenting them in exhibitions by Japan kogei association, the Gendai Nihon Togei, and the Issuikai, eventually becoming a member of the latter in 1960, and becoming a regular member of Japan kogei association the following year. Fujiwara won the grand prix prize in the Barcelona International Pottery Exhibit, which then gained him attention in the United States, Canada, Spain and various other countries in 1964 when he was asked to instruct in pottery around the world as a visiting lecturer. Fujiwara opened his own workshop in Honami, Bizen in 1967, and after starting to work independently, won the Nihon Toji Kyokaisho award, thereupon going on to win the Kanashige Toyo award in 1973 and being recognised as an Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture in 1978. In 1984, he won the Sanyo Newspaper Award, was awarded the Medal of Honor with a dark blue ribbon by the Japanese Government and won the Okayama-ken Bunkasho Award both in 1985, the Chugoku Bunkasho Award in 1986, the Okanichi Geijutsu Bunka Korosho Award in 1987, and the Geijutsu Sensho Monbu Taijinsho Award in 1990. With such a prestigious history of awards behind him, Fujiwara became the 4th person to be designated a Living National Treasure for bizen ware in 1996 after Toyo, Kei, and Yamamoto Toshu, and was also awarded the Medal of Honor with purple ribbon by the Government of Japan in 1998. Striving to create ceramics that placed an importance of usability that would be suitable as both tea bowls and for dining while also working to bring out the uniquely quiet and subdued simplicity of the works of bizen ware to the utmost, Fujiwara’s works serve as the basis of modern bizen wares that place an emphasis on both usability and beauty. japanese-ceramics.com/fujiwara-yu-%e8%97%a4%e5%8e%9f%e9%9b%84/
Tokuda Yasokichi III 三代 徳田八十吉 1933-2009 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1997
Saiyū
Koheiji Miura 三浦小平二 1933-2006 Living National Treasure 人間国宝 1997
Born to a family with generations of gold leaf Kutani ware artists, he worked as a pottery artist apprentice under his grandfather after the early death of his father, and succeeded the three generation Kinzangama workshop in 1951. He was first selected to the Ishikawa Prefecture Art Exhibition in 1964, and flourished in many shows thereafter, appearing at the Issuikai Exhibition in 1978, being displayed at the Japan Industrial Arts Exhibition in 1974, winning the Issuikai award in 1978, receiving the 1982 member award, honorable mention at the 1984 Japan Industrial Arts Exhibition, being awarded the Takamatsunomiya memorial award in 1992, and recieving the Important Intangible Cultural Heritage award in 2000. Other awards in that time also include honorable mention at Chunichi International Ceramics Exhibition in 1984 and 1985, Award of Excellence at the 1992 15th Traditional Kutani Ware Industrial Arts Exhibition, Intangible Cultural Asset nomination by Ishikawa prefecture, etc. Furthermore, in 2001 he was awarded the purple ribbon Japanese Medal of Honor, and designated a living national treasure for his Yurikinsai gold underpainting technique. The years around his designation as a living national treasure are marked by many brilliant successes such as the Northern Province Cultural Award, the Ishikawa Prefecture Cultural Merit Award, the 2002 Komatsu City Cultural Award, the 2003 Ishikawa Television Award, etc. Although he started by producing gold leaf Kutani wares under the guidance of his grandfather, he gradually deepened his study of Yurikinsai to find his own artistic style, creating pieces by applying yellow, blue, violet, etc. glazing to gold leaf. In recent years, he has been enhancing his formality and artistry by completing works embellished with an elegant grey glazed platinum leaf, as well as pieces finished with a thin gold glaze and layered with gold and platinum leaf. https://japanese-ceramics.com/yoshida-minori-%e5%90%89%e7%94%b0%e7%be%8e%e7%b5%b1/
Ito Sekisui 5th五代伊藤赤水 1941- Living National Treasure 人間国宝 2003
Mumyōi-yaki Born in Sado County, Niigata Prefecture. He was born as the eldest son of the fourth generation of Sekisui, whose real name is Yoichi. After graduating from Kyoto Institute of Technology in 1966, he studied Mumyoi ware under his grandfather, the third generation, and was selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition in 1972. In 1976, he succeeded to the name of Sekisui V. He continued to research and refine his techniques.In 1985, he was awarded the Prince Chichibu Cup for the best work at the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition. In 1993, to celebrate the wedding of the Crown Princess, Niigata Prefecture donated a “Mumyoi pottery Jar” to the Owada family, the family home of the Crown Princess, as a celebratory gift.On July 10, 2003, Mumyoi ware, a craft technique, was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property, and Ito Sekisui V was recognized as its holder (Living National Treasure). Mumyoi ware uses a technique called “neriage,” in which clay of different colors is layered to make a kind of rolled sushi, and then the cross sections of the rolled sushi are cut into round slices and arranged to form the shape of a plate or pot. The unique striped patterns and floral patterns are characteristic of Ito Sekisui V. japan-antiques.jp/wp/ito-sekisui-%e4%bc%8a%e8%97%a4%e8%b5%a4%e6%b0%b4/
Jun Isezaki 伊勢崎淳 1936- Living National Treasure 人間国宝 2004