1930-2023
male
Born in Osaka. Co-founded the Kyoto Seiyoukai in 1953. Studied under Kusube Yaichi. Has won several awards, including the special Hokuto Prize at Nitten, and the Honorary Grand Prize at the Biennale International Ceramics Exhibition. Has experience working as a judge and councillor for Nitten. Nitten member. Specializes in inlay woks.
1952 Established the Seitokai Society in Kyoto under the auspices of Kusunobe Yaichi, a recipient of the Order of Cultural Merit, and became a member of the society.
1959 Awarded a special prize and the Order of the Hokut award at the Nitten (awarded again in 1963).
1965 Selected as a new juror for the “Nitten” and became a member (and subsequently served on many juries).
1966 Participated in the International Symposium of Ceramic Art in Israel as a representative of Japan.
1974 Participated in the 4th International Biennale of Ceramics in Vallauris (France), where he was awarded the Honorary Grand Prize.
1978 Invited to participate in the International Exchange Jakarta Japan Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition. Opened Toyoyama Kiln in Takehara City.
1983 Welcomed Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand (guest of honor) to his studio and showed her his inlay technique pottery.
1984 “Masayuki Imai Exhibition” was held at the Salem Peopody Museum, Massachusetts, USA, and the Montalvo Museum of Art, Saratoga, California, USA, and he traveled to the United States.
1987 Gave intensive lectures on “Contemporary Japanese Ceramics” at Foothill College, Cabrillo College, and the San Jose Museum of Art in California, USA.
1988 Participated in the formation of the Sokokai, a group of arts and crafts artists. Dispatched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Peru and Argentina as a cultural lecturer and appointed as an honorary visiting professor at the Cusco Art School in Peru.
1991 Received the Hiroshima Culture Award.
1992 The National Museum of Art, Osaka held an exhibition of Masayuki Imai’s recent works. Honored by the City of Kyoto as a Person of Cultural Merit.
1993 “Ikimono no Sanka (Hymn of Life) – Recent Works by Imai Masayuki” was held at Toji Temple, Kyoto, in commemoration of the 1200th anniversary of the temple’s founding.
1998 Awarded the Japan Art Academy Prize.
2003 Appointed as a member of the Japan Art Academy.
2006 Participated in the establishment of the artist group KOGEI KYOTO, and became co-chairman with Toshihiko Isuna in 2007.
2008 Held exhibitions in Paris and Kyoto organized by the Artists’ Collective Kyoto to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the exchange between France and Japan. Invited to participate in the “Contemporary International Ceramic Art Exhibition” at the Jingdezhen International Ceramics Exposition in China.
2011 Honored as a Person of Cultural Merit.
2013 Represented the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Vietnam at the exhibition “The Masterpieces of Kyoto Crafts-2013” organized by the artists’ group KOGEI Kyoto at the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts, Hanoi (also held at the Shinshu-Takato Museum of Art and the Chushin Museum of Art, Kyoto, under the auspices of both museums). Represented Kyoto and Cologne in the exhibition “The Use and Beauty of Kyo-yaki” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sister city affiliation between Kyoto and Cologne in Cologne, Germany.
2015 Exhibited in “The Beauty of Rimpa in Kyoto” in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Rimpa, organized by Kyoto Prefecture and others.
