Special Exhibition: The works of Hiromitsu Tatano, the late potter
who raised the Shussai-gama kiln and lived to realize the Mingei ethos

Sep 7th(Sat)－Dec 17th(Tue)

Hiromitsu Tatano was one of the founding members of the Shussai-gama Kiln. He passed
away on June 29, 2017.
A well-known face as the manager at the Shussai-gama Kiln, Tatano was never in the
spotlight as an individual potter.
By day he was mainly responsible for the production of pieces with handles and molded
pieces, but when the working day was over he could be found in the workshop after dark.
As he was seldom witnessed in the making process, there were those who thought that
Tatano himself was not involved in making pottery at all. For this reason he has been
called ‘the unknown potter’.
Tatano paid great attention to the balance of aesthetics, weight, and ease of use in
handled works. Eschewing a potter’s wheel, he strived to produce a wide variety of
molded pieces, decorating them with comb lines, dots, straw-rope and finger-painted
designs.
Every work possesses Tatano’s sense of beauty; a surprising and moving display of his
breadth, depth, and enjoyment of expression.
Please enjoy the beauty in the works of ‘the unknown potter’.

Shussai-gama kiln

Shussai-gama kiln was established in August 1947 by Hiromitsu Tatano, Hisato Inoue,
Chiyokichi Kageyama, Yoshio Tatano and Kuue Nakajima in Hikawacho, Izumo city, Shimane
prefecture. Since the beginning, they have followed the Mingei leaders in making
practical, wholesome and beautiful vessels that enhance everyday life and remain much
loved to this day. Gallery 2 displays the kiln’s first firings of 1947 as well as
their iconic cobalt blue works called “Shussai blue”, a series of works made under
the direction of Sori Yanagi and various other works. Please enjoy exploring　the unfolding
trajectory which maintains the Mingei ethos in parallel with the changing times.