Hajime Katō (加藤土師萌, Katō Hajime) (March 7, 1900 – September 25, 1968) was a Japanese
potter
A potter is someone who makes pottery.
Potter may also refer to:
Places United States
*Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US
* Potter, Arkansas
*Potter, Nebraska
* Potters, New Je ...
. He was named a
Living National Treasure in 1961.
Biography
He was born in
Seto, Aichi
is a Cities of Japan, city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 127,659 in 56,573 households, and a population density of 1,146 persons per km². The total area was .
Geography
Seto is located in the hilly north ...
prefecture. He served as an assistant in the Aichi Prefecture Ceramics school until 1921. In 1926 he moved to
Mino, Gifu
Mino Udatsu Townscape
is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 20,749 in 8149 households, and a population density of 180 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . The city is renowned for traditional J ...
where he continued his research and experiments in pottery. In 1927, he won an award at the 8th Imperial Art Academy exhibition (today the
Japan Art Academy
is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of Ed ...
). He won the Grand Prix at the 1937
in Paris. During the war, he lived in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
and studied Chinese Ming porcelain.
After the war he was appointed professor of the Ceramics department at
Tokyo University of the Arts
or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...
. On April 27, 1961 he was nominated as a
Living National Treasure for enamels porcelain. In 1966, he became the president of the Japan Crafts Association and also became an expert committee member on the Council for Protection of Cultural Properties. In 1967 he became
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of the Tokyo University of the Art. The same year he was awarded the
Purple Ribbon
This is a partial list of awareness ribbons. The meaning behind an awareness ribbon depends on its colors and pattern. Since many advocacy groups have adopted ribbons as symbols of support or awareness, ribbons, particularly those of a single col ...
medal on behalf of the emperor.
Works
He received a commission to decorate the ''Take-no-ma'' audience room of the new
Tokyo Imperial Palace
The is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor has his living quarters, the where va ...
. His large lidded vase in green
brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...
“Midoriji kinrande kazari tsubo” (緑地金襴手飾壺) is 1.53m in height.
岩尾對山窯（IWAO TAIZANGAMA）
/ref> The same room also holds art pieces by Tatsuaki Kuroda
was a Japanese woodworker and lacquerware artist. He was nominated a Living National Treasure in 1970.
He received a commission to create the doorknob bases for the ''Take-no-Ma'' audience room in the new Tokyo Imperial Palace. The bases are 52 ...
and Heihachirō Fukuda
was a Japanese ''Nihonga'' painter and designer.
He received a commission to decorate the ''Take-no-ma'' audience room of the Tokyo Imperial Palace, a hall that has an area of 182 square meters, or 55 '' tsubo''. The piece “''Take''” depicts ...
.
References
*『偲ふ 加藤土師萌追悼文集』 三彩社刊 (1969)
*『人間国宝シリーズ7 加藤土師萌』 講談社刊 (1980)
* 東京国立近代美術館 編「加藤土師萌展 近代陶芸の精華」(1999)
External links
Tougei no susume , Hajime Katō
(in Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kato, Hajime
1900 births
1968 deaths
People from Seto, Aichi
Japanese potters
Living National Treasures of Japan
Artists from Aichi Prefecture
20th-century ceramists
20th-century Japanese artists