Japanese potters

Kobayashi Hiroyuki 小林弘幸

1944-maleshigaraki potterypen-name is Kobayashi Yucho. Born in Benxihu, Manchuria and raised in Kobe, Japan1967 Graduated from Tama Art University, Oil Painting Department1969 Entered Shigaraki1974 Built a kiln in Shigaraki-cho, Koga-gun, Shiga Prefecture1977 Built a semi-above-ground anagama kiln of his own design Selected,Japan Ceramic Art ExhibitionJapan Traditional Craft ExhibitionAsahi Ceramic Art Exhibition, JapanCeramics Biennale, JapanNew Master Crafts ExhibitionPrize, Yakishime Ceramics Exhibition, JapanTenri Biennale, JapanMashiko Ceramic Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention, JapanNorthern Confectionery Exhibition, JapanThe 4th Shumei Culture Foundation Prize Member of Japan Kogei Association (more…)

Shibayama Masaya 柴山正弥

maletokoname potteryHe is a ceramic artist from Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture.1990 He was in charge of producing and presenting vases and other pottery to be used at the “Daisho-sai”, the third accession ceremony of the new emperor.1994 Certified by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry as a Tokoname Pottery Traditional Craftsman1995 Aichi Prefecture Governor’s Award (Excellent Traditional Craftsman)1998-1999 Chairman of Tokoname Ware Cooperative Association (more…)

Takahara Takushi 高原卓史

1959-malebizen potteryBorn in Osafune Town, Okayama Prefecture.1978 Completed Kyoto Prefecture Vocational Training School for Ceramic Art1979 Completed Kyoto Municipal Industrial Research Institute1985 Awarded a prize at Chanoyu no Zokei Exhibition (Twelve times since then, including three honorable mentions)1987 Solo exhibition at Asuka Gallery (5 times since then)1987 Solo exhibition at Asuka Gallery (5 times since then) 1997 Solo exhibition at Shibuya Kuroda Pottery Garden (8 times since then)1998 Solo exhibition at Gallery Aoyama (10 times since then) (more…)

Fujimoto Toshin 1st 初代 藤本陶津

1875-1967maleReal name is Fujimoto Mikio. In 1919, he established the Totsu Kiln (Mantetsu ware) in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and devoted himself to pottery making for more than 70 years.He has won prizes at the Kyoto Exhibition and the Prefectural Art Exhibition, and has been invited to the Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition sponsored by the Asahi Newspaper Company.In 1958, he was awarded the Chugoku Culture Prize.Died at the age of 92 in March 1967. (more…)

Shibata Ikko 柴田一光

1837－1911　maletokoname potteryA potter of the late Edo and Meiji periods.Born in May of the 8th year of the Tempo era. He was a wheel thrower in Tokoname, Owari (Aichi Prefecture), and made vermilion clay teapots. Died in May 1911 at the age of 75. His real name was Shibata Wakichi. (more…)

Furuta Oribe 古田織部

1543-1615maleoribe pottery Among Sen no Rikyu’s followers, seven people are thought to have been particularly excellent. One of those seven was Furuta Oribe. Oribe was a military commander, and also the lord of a province. He is more famous as a tea master than as a potter, but Oribe-ware was founded under the guidance of Furuta Oribe and produced many tea utensils with eccentric and innovative shapes and patterns that Oribe liked. When Sen no Rikyu was sentenced to death by the Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it is said that before he died, as he was being escorted across the Yodogawa (more…)

Kato Tamikichi 加藤民吉

1772-1824maleseto porcelain　Late Edo period potter who introduced porcelain to Seto ware and is considered the founder of Seto porcelain. In Japan, as pottery is generally called Seto-mono, Seto ware was the center of pottery production.However, it was unable to produce porcelain, and was gradually overtaken by the porcelain of Imari porcelain and in Kyushu, and was on the way to decline.　In 1804, Tamikichi went to Imari in Hizen Province, Kyushu, to learn the porcelain manufacturing method and the method of dyeing, and returned to Seto in 1807. He introduced a new method of dyeing porcelain to the Seto ware industry. (more…)

Ichikawa Toru 市川透

1973-malebizen potteryBorn in Tokyo.2011 Studied under ceramic artist Ochizaki Ryuichi.2015 Became independent in Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture. (more…)

Aoki Ryota 青木良太

1978-maleBorn in Toyama Prefecture in 1978. Works from a studio in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture. Through researching about 15,000 different glazes per year, he continues to create beautiful works that no one has ever seen before, using materials that are not usually handled in ceramics, such as gold, silver, and platinum. 2002 Won the Grand Prize and the Governor of Tokyo Award at the Tableware Festival, and the Encouragement Prize at the Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition. 2003 Received the Silver Prize at the Takaoka Craft Exhibition. 2004 Won the Silver Prize at the Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramics Award (Australia). (more…)

Asakura Kazuka 浅蔵一華

1971-femalekutani porcelainBorn in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture as daughter of Asakura Isokichi III. Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art, majoring in industrial design. At the Isokichi Fukaka Kiln, she produces porcelain consistently from molding to firing and overglaze painting. While inheriting the traditional deep yellow glaze technique of her predecessors, she paints new and gorgeous patterns on the vessels. 1996 Completed the Graduate School of Industrial Design, Kanazawa College of Art. After that, he started his creative activities under Asakura Isokichi II and III. Worked mainly in solo exhibitions and group exhibitions. 2015 She was certified as a traditional artisan (more…)

Aoki Eigoro 青木栄五郎

1845-1906malekutani porcelainKutani potter, also known as Eitei and Toko, the same pen name as his grandfather and father. After learning the style of his father, Aoya Gen’emon, he was invited by Maeda Nariyasu, the lord of Kaga-Kanazawa, and moved from Komatsu to Kanazawa to work as a potter. (more…)

Fukagawa Porcelain 深川製磁

1894-arita porcelain Fukagawa Porcelain is a well-established manufacturer of Arita porcelain since 1894. Its history dates back to 1894 when it was established by the second son of Fukagawa Eizayemon of Koransha, which was also located in the town of Arita. The company is known for its clear blue dyeing and red painting, and the blue dyeing is also called “Fukagawa blue” and is well known by many people. In 1903, it was exhibited at the World Exposition in Paris, where it won the highest honor, the Medaille d’Or. Fukagawa’s porcelain with “Mt. Fuji and River” on the back has (more…)

Aoki Taeko 青木妙子

1950-femalearita porcelainBorn as the eldest daughter of Kawazoe Tameo, the potter of Kosen Kiln.1969 Graduated from Imari High School, Saga Prefecture, and joined Kosen Kiln.1975 She got married and became a mother of a son and a daughter.1991 Certified as a traditional craftsman (underglaze enameling) of Imari and Arita ware.1998 Passed the first class technician of underglaze painting.1999 Passed the vocational training instructor exam.2000 Vice-president of the Women’s Division of the National Association of Traditional Craftsmen to 2007.2002 Passed First Class Craftsman for Underglaze Painting.2007 Certified as a traditional craftsman of Imari and Arita ware (overglaze enameling).2010 Lecturer of painting (more…)

Goda Yoshimichi 合田好道

1910-2000malemashiko potteryBorn in Toyohama-cho, Mitoyo-gun (now Kanonji City), Kagawa Prefecture. In 1925, he dropped out of Mitoyo Junior High School and moved to Beppu. In 1930, he met Koyama Fujio, Chokai Seiji, Ryoji Kumata, and Aizu Yaichi. In 1939, through Fujio Koyama, he came to know Asakawa Noritaka. In 1942, he opened the craft store “MON (Gate)” with Itoh Yasubei, which also served as a coffee shop. He displayed works by Tomimoto Kenkichi, Ishiguro Munemaro, Kitaoji Rosanjin, Arakawa Toyozo, and Hamada Shoji. In 1946, he moved to Mashiko with the help of Hamada Shoji. In 1946, he moved to Mashiko (more…)

TOTO LTD.

1917-TOTO was founded in 1917 under the name Toyo Toki Company. Known as a mainstay manufacturer of sanitary ware, TOTO used to produce a lot of tableware. In particular, its pre-war products are known as “Old TOTO,” and are as popular as Old Noritake.The roots of TOTO can be traced back to the founding of the trading company Morimura Gumi (now Morimura Bros. Co., Ltd.) in 1876, which led to the establishment of Nihon Toki Unlimited Partnership Company (now NORITAKE CO., LIMITED) in 1904. Nihon Toki built a plant in Kokura, Kitakyushu City, Japan for the purpose of manufacturing and (more…)

Sueda Megumi 末田恵

femalebizen pottery Popular female artist of Bizen ware.1990 Graduated from Shimane University, Faculty of Law and Literature. 2001 Studied under Abe Anjin. Completed the Okuizumo Institute of Ceramic Art attached to Shimane Design College.　2002 Built an underground kiln “Hanae Kiln” in Yokota-cho, Nita-gun, Shimane Prefecture. 2003 Held her first solo exhibition “Megumi Sueda Exhibition” at Bizen Pottery Gallery Aoyama, Tokyo.Specially exhibited in “Contemporary Japanese Ceramics: Reception and Transmission” at Tokyo Teien Art Museum. 2005 Exhibited ” Abe Anjin and Friends” at Hankyu Department Store Umeda, Osaka In 2007, exhibited “Bizen Sueida Megumi Exhibition” at Hankyu Department Store Umeda, Osaka. (more…)

Ide Seito, Ltd. 井出製陶株式会社

Ide Zentaro (male, 1898-1929)His grandfather, Zen’ emon, and his father, Mataemon, were also pottery dealers, so in 1897, at the age of 19, Zentaro took over the family business, Kyuryudo studio, and opened a branch in Kanazawa the following year.　In 1900, he established Kutani Ceramics, Ltd. (Kutani-Tojiki, Ltd.)　In 1903, he established a branch office in Kobe for the purpose of export.　In 1906, in order to improve on the primitive method of making Kutani ware clay, he established the Kutani Raw Stone Crushing Company in Terai with Wataya Heibei, Ishizaki Shigeru and others, and began manufacturing Kutani ware clay using a (more…)

Kumano Kurouemon 熊野九郎右ヱ門

1955-maleechizen potteryKumano Kurouemon’s kiln is virtually flat, angled at a mere two degrees. If a kiln is too steep, the heat keeps escaping upward. When using a flat kiln for firing, the kiln interior is able to reaches high temperatures due to heat pressure. [According to Kunamo,] flames survive at high temperatures and repeat oxidation and reduction of their own accord. (Kumano likens this to the breath of humans).For fuel, Kumano avoids red pine and uses split oak firewood exclusively.Kumano creates his ceramics works by firing them at the ultra-high temperature of 1520℃ (in a wood-fired kiln), a method that (more…)

NORITAKE CO., LIMITED ノリタケ

1904-The company was founded in 1904 by Morimura Ichizaemon (1839-1919) as Nihon Toki General Partnership Company. Its predecessor, Nihon Toki, was the first company in Japan to produce high-end Western tableware, which was exported in large quantities to Europe and the United States by the Morimura Group, a pottery and porcelainware trading company, during the Meiji era and before World War II. The early products were handmade and known for the beauty of their painting and the delicacy of their workmanship. Later, tableware based on the Art Deco style was produced in large quantities, and the elaborate designs are still (more…)

Ikura Kotaro 井倉幸太郎

1979-maleBorn in Yagyu, the eldest son of a Yagyu potter. 2002 Graduated from Osaka University of Arts, Department of Crafts, Ceramics Course. Studied under Fujiwara Tsunenori. Became an instructor at a pottery school (left in 2005). 2005 Began pottery making activities in Yagyu. Currently produces blue and white porcelain, and is active in solo exhibitions as the fourth generation of the Yagyu pottery family. Exhibitions and Awards2010 The 61st Nara Prefectural Art Exhibition, Grand Prize. 2011 Selected for the 41st Japan Traditional Crafts Kinki Exhibition. Selected, 9th International Ceramics Exhibition Mino, Japan. Selected, The 58th Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition. (more…)