Tomoyuki Matsui - Bizen

Tomoyuki Matsui was born in Arao-shi, Kumamoto prefecture in 1931 and he graduated from the National Kyoto Ceramics Research Institute in 1950.

From 1956 to 1960 he studied in Kyoto under the potter, Morino Kako and then went to the Okayama Prefectural Bizen Pottery Centre where he remained until 1973. In 1971 his work was accepted in the First Japan Ceramic Art exhibition and it was purchased by the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.

1973 saw him building his own wood-fired kiln at Nishikatakami, Bizen-shi, where he has remained ever since, building a new kiln there in 2001.

In 1976 he was given his first solo exhibition at Nagoya Asahi Art and has had numerous solo exhibitions since then. In 1980 he won the “Kaneshige Toyo Prize” for a large plate that was subsequently dedicated to the Grand Shrine at Ise. He is a Japan Art Crafts Association member and in 1996 he was awarded the title of Intangible Cultural Asset for Bizen Ware by the Okayama Prefecture.

This yunomi is in the Neriage or Nerikomi style using layers of different clays, which is time consuming and not widely practised. It also shows signs of significant ash deposits during the wood-firing.


The lid of the signed wooden box.