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Raku Kichizaemon 4th Ichinyu 四代 楽吉左衛門 一入

1640-1696maleraku potteryIchinyu’s wife was the daughter of the maki-e painter, Kumagaya Muneaki (Soukan), and they lived close to her family home for a time during the Kanbun era. For a while, he and his wife were unable to bear any children, but when he was 23 years old, they had a boy (Ichigen) and in addition, they adopted a boy (Sounyu) from Kariganeya Sanemon. After that, they had a daughter, Otsu (Myotsu), who later became Sounyu’s wife. There was a period of time when Ichigen was taken in by the Raku family, and there are also records of Ichigen and (more…)

Raku Kichizaemon 3rd Donyu 三代 楽吉左衛門 道入

1599-1656maleraku potteryDonyu, who was Jokei’s first son (Doraku being the 2nd) and a 2nd generation Raku-family descendant, went by the pseudonym or artist name Kichibe or Kichizaemon during his life, however, many people call him by his nickname ‘Nonko’.Nobody clearly knows when Donyu began pottery making, however, he had enough time to learn pottery from his father, Jokei, and it’s thought that he also learned it from Honami Koetsu (a famous potter). Donyu tried to develop a new raku ware style based on Rikyu-style tea bowls while incorporating his style and early Edo period trends.It was considered that Koetsu developed (more…)

Raku Chojiro (Raku Kichizaemon 1st) 楽長次郎 (初代 楽吉左衛門)

?-1589maleraku potteryA son of Ayame and Hikuni, he was the founder of Raku style of pottery (Raku ware), which was hand molded without the use of a pottery wheel. He made the Raku pottery studio with Tanaka Soke, as well as Joke and Somi who were Soke’s sons. It is said that Chojiro’s wife was Somi’s daughter.Chojiro made a new style of pottery, which was inspired by the ideas of Rikyu, famous amongst the general public. This work is also known as “raku chawan“ (hand molded tea bowl) with its origins stemming from Raku pottery. Raku ware has its roots (more…)

Otagaki Rengetsu 太田垣蓮月

1791-1875femaleawata potteryShe was a Buddhist nun who is widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese poets of the 19th century. She was adopted at a young age by the Otagaki family. It is said that she didn’t live a happy life because she lost her adoptive father and five brothers from illness. She married, but her husband died soon after. She remarried but lost this husband too from illness after only four years, as well as her young son and three young daughters. She joined the temple Chion-in and became a nun, taking Rengetsu (“Lotus Moon”) as her Buddhist (more…)

Ohi Toshiro (Ohi Chozaemon 10th) 大樋年朗 (十代 大樋長左衛門)

1927-maleohi potteryAs the 10th generation Ohi Chozaemon, he inherited the Ohi ware family business, which was a traditional method of producing tea pottery from the feudal government period. On the side, he presented and displayed works that had adopted a modern feel in exhibitions, mainly the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition. He continued to be chosen for prizes and receive awards, becoming active as a central artisan in the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition.He uses the name, “10th Generation Ohi Chozaemon” for his traditional Ohi ware works. However, he uses the name he had before his succession as it is, “Ohi Toshiro,” (more…)

Ohi Chozaemon 9th 九代 大樋長左衛門

1901-1986maleohi potteryAfter graduating from Ishikawa Technical School, he devoted himself to the family business, and he was chosen for a prize for the first time in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce Kogei Exhibition in 1920. In 1925, he inherited the family estate and succeeded the name as the ninth generation Ohi Chozaemon. He earnestly studied traditional pottery techniques, and received high praise at his private exhibition, “Twelve Months Tea Bowl Exhibition” in 1936. In 1940, he was bestowed the Chozaemon sign from Konoe Fumimaro, and he was acknowledged as a Preserver of Kogei Techniques in 1942. From 1958, he (more…)

Sasaki Niroku 佐々木二六

1857-1935maleniroku potteryBorn in Muramatsu Village, Uma County (now Shikokuchuo City). His real name is Rokutaro. Born into a family involved in tile manufacturing for generations.He took over the family’s tile manufacturing business.In 1883, while in Tokushima, he was impressed by the live dolls of Matsumoto Kisaburo, one of Japan’s foremost Kumamoto doll makers, and became passionate about doll making.　He visited potteries in various parts of Japan for further research, and in 1887, he came up with the idea of carving the opposite side of Soma ware of Fukushima Prefecture, focusing on the raised carvings. He studied carving landscapes, flowers and (more…)

Saka Koraizaemon 12th 十二代 坂高麗左衛門

1949-2004malehagi potteryReal name is Saka Tatsuo. At university and graduate school, he mainly did research on Japanese painting techniques for solo exhibitions, but after graduating from graduate school, he married the daughter of the 11th generation Saka Koraizaemon of the Hagi-yaki Kiln, Saka Motoko and entered the Saka family as a son-in-law. He started pottery from 1984 after being at the Kyoto Industrial Research Institute for Ceramics and presented works at the Traditional Crafts New Work Exhibition, and the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition etc. In 1988, he received the NHK Yokohama Broadcasting Award in a New Works Exhibition, and in (more…)

Sakakura Shinbe 12th 十二代 坂倉新兵衛

1884-1960malehagi potteryBorn as the eldest son of the 11th generation Sakakura Shinbe, he inherited the family business.He was someone who deepened his knowledge by learning tea ceremony from Sugi Minji(Yoshida Shoin’s older brother) and Sokuchusai masters, and revived the Hagi-ware industry, which had fallen into decline since the abolition of feudal domain kilns. He was called the most recent ‘ancestor of rejuvenation’ for Hagi-ware together with the 10th generation Miwa Kyusetsu, and it was certified as a designated cultural property of Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1955.Traditional Hagi tea bowls, and Ido Chawan, etc. (more…)

Sakaida Kakiemon 12th 十二代 酒井田柿右衛門

1878-1963malearita porcelainBorn as the eldest son of the 11th generation Kakiemon, he succeeded to the name of 12th Kakiemon with the death of his father in 1917.In 1919, Obata Hideyoshi and Kakiemon established a limited partnership and started to use ‘Kakufuku’ on their products, but upon leaving the company in 2016, the ‘Kakufuku’ seal became the company’s property and so the Sakaida family began to use ‘Work of Kakiemon’ on their products. During that time, he showed success through things like winning the silver medal at the Kyushu-Okinawa Prefectural Association Prize Show in 1919, and being designated as an arts (more…)

Kitaoji Rosanjin 北大路魯山人

1883-1959maleoribe potteryBorn in Kitaoji-cho, Kamigamo in Kyoto in 1883 (Meiji 16). Rosanjin’s birth was a result of his mother having an affair and his father, disgusted by this, committed seppuku suicide 4 months before Rosanjin was born. He had a poverty-stricken childhood and was put into foster care as soon as he was born, being passed on to various loveless adoptive households where he suffered abuse until he settled into the Fukuda household at age 6. One day, while running an errand for the place where he worked, he saw the sign for a restaurant in town called ‘Kamemasa’ on (more…)

Miwa Kyusetsu 11th 十一代 三輪休雪

1910-2012malehagi potteryliving national treasureBorn the third son of the Miwa kiln’s ninth generation Kyusetsu (Setsudo) of Hagi ware tradition, Miwa Kyusetsu studied under his father and older brother (the 10th generation Kyusetsu: Kyuwa) after graduating middle school, and also studied under Kawakita Handeishi.After a long period of training, he took on the pottery artist name “Kyu” and displayed his work in 1955. He was chosen for a prize for the first time in the Fourth Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition in 1957, and he continued to be chosen for prizes from that point onward. In 1960, he was nominated for member (more…)

Miwa Kyusetsu 10th 十代 三輪休雪

1895 – 1981malehagi potteryliving national treasureHe was born as a child of the 9th Miwa Kyusetsu (Setudo) of the Miwa Kiln of the traditional Hagi Pottery. After he had been disciplined and influenced by his father and his grandfather (the 8th Kyusetsu: Setsuzan), he inherited his family business and in 1927 he inherited the professional name as the 10th Kyusetsu.He has worshiped and adored works of generations of Kyusetu, and devoted himself to the research of kaolin. Eventually he combined the Hagi clay and white glaze to complete the unique glaze called “Kyusetsujiro”. He has also added the character of (more…)

Matsui Kosei 松井康成

1927-2003malekasama potteryliving national treasureAfter graduating from university, he was inaugurated as 24th chief priest of the Tsukiso Jodo Temple in Kasama, Ibaraki prefecture in 1957.In 1959, he began restoring the old kiln at the temple’s gate, conducting unique research into ancient pottery from China, Korea and Japan. Further, from 1967 he received training from Tamura Koichi, dedicating himself to the study of Chinese kneading and inlaying techniques in particular. He first exhibited “Renjo te obachi” at the 9th Traditional Kogei Exhibition, receiving an honorable mention award. Thereafter, he amassed displays at every exhibition, and repeatedly amassed various awards such as (more…)

Koyama Fujio 小山富士夫

1900-1975maleCommittee chairman of the Japan Society of Oriental Ceramic Studies and board chairman of the Japan Kogei Association. After leaving university mid term, he devoted himself to the study of ceramics at Seto and Kyoto, and established himself as a potter in 1925.However, in 1930 he became an Oriental Ceramics Research Institute employee, suspending his pottery work to devote himself to ceramics and porcelain research. In 1941 he served at the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum, joining in with the work of selecting Designated Cultural Properties. After retiring from the museum in 1961, he started to make pottery again from 1964, (more…)

Kondo Yuzo 近藤悠三

1902-1985maleliving national treasureKondo Yuzo was designated a living national treasure and left a remarkable legacy to Japanese ceramics. He was born in 1902 on the very site of this memorial museum, just outside the gate of Kiyomizu Temple. At the age of 12, he entered the training facility of the Ceramics Laboratory to learn to use the potter’s wheel. It was there that he met Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji.Starting when he was 19, he spent three years as an assistant to Tomimoto Kenkichi in Nara.He established his own studio in the same area when he was 22. There he (more…)

Kawakita Handeishi 川喜田半泥子

1878-1963maleA wealthy cotton merchant from Ise born to the Kawakita Kyudaku household, he was separated from his parents and became the head of the family at around 1. He took the name of Kyudaku the 16th, and received training in Zen and so on from his grandmother (what is currently called “emperor studies”). After graduating from Waseda University, he took on his father’s occupation, also working as a Hyakugo Bank board member in 1903 before becoming Hyakugo’s president in 1919, and its chairman in 1945. He also served as a member of the Mie prefectural assembly.During this time he also (more…)

Kawai Kanjiro 河井寛次郎

1890-1966maleAfter graduating from Tokyo Higher Polytechnical School, Kawai worked and studied at the Kyoto Research Institute for Ceramics. In 1920, he built his own independent kiln in Gojozaka (inherited from Kiyomizu Rokubey V), and married Tsune Kawai (née Mikami Yasu) the same year.His first ceramics exhibition was held the following year at Tokyo’s Takashimaya Department Store. From the beginning, he studied ancient Chinese and Korean ceramics, and was highly praised for developing pieces with ever more unique molds, but he held doubts about his style, and temporarily ceased to make pottery. It was around this time he was introduced to (more…)

Kato Tokuro 加藤唐九郎

1896-1985malemino potteryKato Tokuro was born the eldest son of Seto potter Kano Sojiro, and as a child displayed a talent for painting in the Nanga style, for composing Chinese poetry, as well as for ceramics, which he practiced under his father. In 1914, he was granted partial rights to his father’s round kiln, marking the start of his own kiln construction and ceramics.In 1918, he married Kato Kinu and took the family name Kato.He devoted himself to surveying the old Seto kilns and researching traditional Seto techniques, allowing him to reproduce Shino and Oribe ware. In 1929, he founded the (more…)

Seifu Yohei 3rd 三代 清風与平

1850-1914malekyo potteryimperial household artistBorn to the Okada family in Harima Province. Sought to be a painter as a youth and studied Japanese painting and nanga under Tanomura Chokunyu in Osaka. However, gave up on painting due to illness and transitioned to ceramics by becoming an apprentice of the 2nd generation Seifu Yohei in Kyoto. Used the artist name of Seizan to make ceramics at the time.Later married the younger sister of the 2nd generation and became a son-in-law of the Seifu family (Shinkai family). Became the 3rd generation Yohei upon the passing of the 2nd generation in 1878. Studied the (more…)