When I first looked at the work of Yasokichi Tokuda III (b. 1933) I had to put on a pair of sunglasses -- I was almost blinded by the intensity of his kaleidoscopic Kutani porcelain.
Tokuda's ceramic art doesn't look anything like the overglaze enameled Kutani people are used to, like the red Meiji Era pieces that are quite common at antique markets and in the souvenir shops of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, where much of Kutani is made.
His large hachi (platters or wide bowls), with bright yellow borders, look like the Ring Nebula with their dark mysterious centers and pulsating bright edges. For his mastery of Kutani glazes, Tokuda was named a Ningen Kokuho (Living National Treasure) in 1997. His "50 Years as a Potter" exhibition is on until Nov. 13 at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi's sixth-floor gallery.
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