Tokuda Yasokichi

Tokuda Yasokichi
Born(1873-11-20)20 November 1873
Died20 February 1956(1956-02-20) (aged 82)
NationalityJapanese
Known forCrafting pottery
StyleKutani ware

Tokuda Yasokichi I (20 November 1873 – 20 February 1956)(徳田八十吉) was a Japanese potter. He was born in near present day Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture.[1] The area was made famous by the Kutani mines, the source of the clays utilized to make kutani ware.

At the time of his birth, Kutani ware was the leading export of ceramic items from Japan; however, the quality had dropped since it was first produced in 1655[2] during the early Edo period.[3] Older, kutani ceramics, termed ko-kutani, was painted in great detail using five bold colours called the five colours of ko-kutani. These colours, dark green, deep blue, red, yellow, and purple[4] made it stand out from other ceramic wares.[2] Further, Yoshidaya style, renowned for its use of translucent pigment and delicate painting style,[5] had been abandoned after only a brief flourish from 1824 to 1831.[6] This style never contains the color red.[7]

Tokuda Yasokichi I began his studies in Japanese-style painting under Tannrei Kano in 1888. At the age of 17, he began an apprenticeship under Sahira Matsumoto, a potter from Komatsu, who had already began a push to restore the quality of kutani ware to its former glory.[3] Matsumoto trained Yasokichi I in the art of ceramic painting in the ko-kutani style. His works became indistinguishable from ko-kutani and the Yoshidaya style so he began to sign them to help keep them differentiated.[1]

Supposedly, Tokuda Yasokichi I kept the formulations for the glazes he utilized secret and only handed them down within the family.[8]

In 1953, he was awarded the title Nationally Important Intangible Cultural Property Keeper which is better known as a Living National Treasure.[9]

Successors:

  1. ^ a b Jay (6 September 2018). "Shining Like a Star: How Tokuda Yasokichi Kutani Pottery Became Number One". OrientalSouls.com. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Ko-Kutani Ware, History of Japanese Kutani Ware". Japanese Kutani Store. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "紫深厚釉　香炉　Tokuda YasokichiⅠ｜ARTISTS｜GALLERY ASUKA". gallery-asuka.jp. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Kutani technique - The Kutani Ceramic Website". www.kutani.org. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Art Styles of the Past Yoshidaya Kutani Decorative Plate". MUSUBI KILN. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Kutani-yaki Kiln Museum". Kutani-yaki Kiln Museum. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Kutani Aochibu & Shirochibu". MUSUBI KILN. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Living National Treasure - The Kutani Ceramic Website". www.kutani.org. Retrieved 12 March 2024.