Japan's history of ceramics stretches back for millenniums, with most spinners of clay remaining nameless. One star, however, did shape a new world of pottery: Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966).
Kawai left us 50 years ago this autumn. Thankfully, though, he bestowed upon us some of the most brilliant ceramic art in all of Japan's history. A celebration of his life and visionary creations is now showing in Kyoto at Museum "Eki" Kyoto.
Kawai wasn't born in Kyoto, his life began in Shimane Prefecture where his family were master carpenters. As the second son he was free to choose a career, and at the advice of his uncle he chose the path of a potter. Diverging from a traditional apprenticeship, he entered the ceramic department at the Tokyo Higher Technical School (now Tokyo Institute of Technology) and afterward moved to the Kyoto City Ceramic Research Institute. At these two centers he tackled styles so quickly he was known as "a genius who appeared like a comet." This training was to serve him well in his amazing usage of various glazes — on traditional forms in his early years and on avant-garde clay sculptures in his latter years.