Collection: Artist Category > The "TA" column (Kenichi Tomimoto, etc.) > Kenichi Tomimoto

He is one of the great masters who laid the foundation for modern Japanese pottery.
After studying at the Design Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, he traveled to England, where he was exposed to the ideas of William Morris and the artistic views of Whistler, which led to the development of a unique aesthetic sense that would later guide his ceramic work. After returning to Japan, he began to seriously pursue ceramics through his interactions with Bernard Leach and others, and eventually joined the Mingei movement along with Muneyoshi Yanagi, Kanjiro Kawai, and Shoji Hamada.

Tomimoto adhered to the belief throughout his life that "patterns should not be created from patterns alone," and incorporated unique designs based on sketches he gleaned from observing nature into his works. His motifs, which he sublimated with his own sensibility from familiar subjects such as bamboo forests, flowers, and rainy landscapes, were developed into poetic decorations on white porcelain, blue and white porcelain, and overglaze porcelain. In his later years, he added gold and silver accents, establishing a refined and elegant style.

In 1944, he became a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and after the war, he worked hard to train the next generation of artists as a professor at Kyoto City University of Arts. In 1955, he was recognized as the first holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) for his "overglaze porcelain," and in 1961 he was awarded the Order of Culture. When he died in 1963 at the age of 77, he left behind the words, "I do not need a grave; my work is my grave," symbolizing a life dedicated to art.

Tomimoto Kenkichi's works, unique in their fusion of tradition and innovation, remain at the pinnacle of Japanese ceramics.