Master of Japanese Porcelain--- (Potter: Koichi Takita)

KOICHI TAKITA, born in 1927 is one of the most influential Japanese ceramic artists today. He has been making pottery for over 70 years and has been a great mentor to many artists in Japan as well as overseas. His skill with the brush -- and much more -- comes from his studies with two of Japan's legendary potters, Tomimoto Kenkichi and Hamada Shoji, both designated living national treasures in 1955 and in a way, his work is a fusion of both aesthetics in the spirit of the Mingei movement. (the Japanese folk art movement which was developed in the late1920s​s and 1930s​) In 1998, Takita was given the Tochigi Prefecture Cultural Prize honoring his work over the decades.