Chief Judge of Ceramic Arts Category

Born in 1946, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He earned his master’s degree in Art and Design from Tokyo University of Education Graduate School in 1978. He started to work at Yamaguchi Prefectural Art Museum from 1979 and served as the Vice-Director from 1996. He has been working as the Director of Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu from 2002.

He wrote many theses such as “Early Hagi Ware in the Literature” (Tokyo National Museum No.471, Museum Press, 1990),”The Mastery of Tea Bowl, Ceramic Art of Kyusetsu Miwa” (Honoh Geijutsu No.57, Abe Publishing Ltd., 1999), “The Change of Style in Hagi Ware Tea Bowl” in the catalogue of “Exhibition of Japanese Tea Bowl Masterpieces Used in Tea Ceremony” (Chado Research Center Galleries, 1999), “The Silk Road of Ceramics, Ceramic Art of Takuo Kato” (Honoh Geijutsu No.85, Abe Publishing Ltd., 2006).

His main publications are “Ceramic Art, Ryoji Koie” (NHK Press Association, 1990), and “Art in Yamaguchi Prefecture” (Shibunkaku Press, 1995).

He has curated numerous exhibitions and written for the catalogues including three “Modern Ceramic Art Series” (1982, 1984, and 1986), ”Kohagi, Sono Genryu To Shuhen Ten” (Exhibition, “Kohagi- Its Origin and Surroundings)(1981), “Chugoku Touji Nisennen No Nagare Ten” (Exhibition, “The Flow of 2000 Years of Chinese Ceramics History”) (1985), “The Hagiyaki” (1995) at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Art Museum, and “Hagiyaki 400nen, Dentou To Kakushin Ten” (Exhibition, “400 Years of Hagiyaki, Tradition and Innovation”) (2000) at Maison de la culture du Japon a Paris and Suntory Museum of Art.

He served as a judge for many exhibitions, such as the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition, West Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition, International Ceramics Competition Mino, Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, and numerous art exhibitions at museum in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture and Mie Prefecture.