Choza Yamamoto, painter for the Imperial Household Agency's official kiln

Beautiful underglaze blue, reminiscent of Kutani ware
Artist of the official kiln of the Imperial Household Agency
Choza Yamamoto

In Kutani ware, where brightly coloured paintings dominate, Choza Yamamoto's indigo ware attracts and fascinates many. His high technique and excellent sense of style give his pottery a unique presence.
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The deep taste of the dyeing process Deep flavor

The painting technique of Choza Yamamoto, who is also renowned as a potter for the Imperial Household Agency's official kiln, is, needless to say, underglaze blue.
In the process of Sometsuke, he paints on a bare surface with a pigment called Kuresu. According to Choza, it is more like dyeing the base with Kuresu than painting.

The meaning of dyeing. This may be easier to understand if we look at the processes of iroe and somezuke. In iroe, the painting is done on a fired unglazed ground. The glaze becomes vitreous when it is fired, i.e. the base is coated with a vitreous substance, so that the coloured pigments are only applied to the base, not soaked into it (the colours are fixed by firing after painting).
In some-tsuke, on the other hand, the colours are painted directly onto the unglazed base. Since it is not coated with glass, the gozu stains the unglazed base (after painting with gozu, glaze is applied and fired. (In other words, each piece of gozu painting is coated with vitreous material).
The chocolate-coloured gozu turns into a vivid indigo colour when fired.

The lines drawn with a thin brush have different strengths and weaknesses, and the use of different shades in the areas painted with a special thick brush called "dami", which fills the surface, allows a rich expression even with a single colour of indigo.
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The ingenuity and effort required to achieve beautiful colouring

I also mix Kutani clay with Kuresu, which is the raw material for the base of Kutani ware.
Kutani clay and kuresu, which is the base material for kutani yaki, have a high affinity. In other words, the kyusu blends well with the base clay and can be easily dyed. When fired, the more it blends with the base, the more beautiful the finished piece will be. In cooking, it is like 'richness comes out'," says Choza.

But when you mix clay with gozu, doesn't the gozu itself become rough and difficult to paint?
Yes, it becomes extremely difficult to paint.
But to hide the difficulty of painting, we rub our kuresu very well. We rub it well to make it easier to paint.

I spare no effort to make it as easy to draw on as possible," he says.
To begin with, the surface of unglazed porcelain is rough and difficult to paint on. I wondered how difficult it must be to paint with clay mixed with gosu, even though the surface is well rubbed, when he showed me how he painted. I had to take my hat off to his skill.

Choza moved his brush smoothly, and the ultra-fine lines were beautifully dyed. It was so pleasant to watch.
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With the wish that the person who uses it
I wish for the happiness of the people who use it.

Choza's vessels are exquisitely painted with a combination of pine, bamboo and plum blossoms, congratulatory patterns and auspicious patterns such as seigaiha (blue ocean waves), sayagata (a kind of cotton pattern) and kagome (a kind of basket pattern).

By drawing auspicious crests and auspicious patterns,
I wish for good fortune and happiness for the tableware that I use every day. It's like an imprint.
It would be nice if it makes the people who use it happy,” says Choza.
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The animals on the crockery are cute and lovable.

The animals have eyes, mouths and toes," he says. I don't draw them randomly because they are where the eye naturally goes.
I think it's the same with people. If the movements of their hands and feet are beautiful, they look attractive. In the same way, if you draw the tips of the fingers and toes carefully, they become more attractive.
Then there is the gaze.

Basically, eyes look up. Especially birds.Because it feels better to look up than down, doesn't it? Choza's vessels are fun to look at.
Choza's vessels are fun to look at.Line clouds and patterned clouds. Both are impressive.
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Vessels made of dyed fabric that are only visible when in use.

Choza's vessels are all indigo, but they are also beautiful. Some are filled with richly painted patterns, while others leave blank spaces and fascinate with their precise patterns and compositions.

However, once placed on a serving dish, they are sure to enhance the food and confectionery.The containers are not the star of the show. In the case of my vessels, the colour is added by the food," says Choza.
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Always have your antennae up to find out what people want

I always keep my antennae up to find out what people want and try to absorb their needs.
When I go to a department store, I look at the furniture and lifestyle section. The sales trend has changed from chabutai to dining tables, which reflects the times," he says.
Choza's tableware fits in well with the western atmosphere.

I look at the range of ready meals in department stores and think about what kind of plates would go with them, and nowadays there is a wide variety of frozen foods. I also imagine how I would like to eat it and what kind of plate would be best to serve it on.
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Daring to Play with Sometsuke in Kutaniyaki Ware

Why did Choza choose Sometsuke as his technique?
When I entered the world of Kutaniyaki porcelain 50 years ago, colour painting was at its peak. At that time, Sometsuke was like an addition to Iro-e. It was difficult to compete with colour painting when colour painting was the mainstream. Then I thought that I could become the only one by pursuing the art of Sometsuke, which not many people were doing.

Besides, somezuke suited my characteristics. I have liked drawing since I was a child, and I used to draw a lot, but I get a lot of compliments at the stage of underpainting with lines. But when I start colouring them in, they go down to so-so (laughs).
But you know, maybe that's what a vocation is. I think I do my job by looking at my own characteristics and making the most of what I am good at," he said.
He said that colouring is so-so... but his colour paintings are also wonderful.

In Choza's hands, the colour painting becomes an accent that complements the underglaze blue.

How did you become the official kiln of the Imperial Household Agency?

In 1990, at the request of the Imperial Household Agency, he created tableware for the accession ceremonies. From then on, the Imperial Household Agency began to ask us regularly. What was the inspiration behind the first request?
When you work hard, people mysteriously appear to help you or lift you up.
For me, that person was the general manager of Nihonbashi Takashimaya Department Store. He told me that I worked hard even though I was young, and he put my pots in his store. The person who succeeded him also supported me without changing. Thanks to them, I started to get customers.

 

At the beginning of the Heisei era, it was decided that Japanese tableware would be used for the "Feast Ceremony" of the accession to the throne, and Takashimaya, the official purveyor to the Imperial Household Agency, also approached us. Takashimaya, the official purveyor to the Imperial Household Agency, approached us and asked, "Would you like to enter a competition for Japanese tableware for the Sokui-no-rei? He said, "Why don't you enter us in the competition? Although it was called a competition, five companies with a proven track record had already been selected, and we were added to the list. But that was the crucial point," says Choza.
We wanted to do the best work since we were asked to participate! He put a lot of effort into creating the vessels for the competition. He went through more than 10 iterations of prototypes. Finally, he was satisfied with the final product and submitted it to the competition.

 

d with the final product and submitted it to the competition.
It was selected and remained in the judging process until the very end," Choza recalls.
When he was over 20, Choza set up his own studio. His younger brother (Atsushi Yamamoto) joined him and they worked seriously on making tea bowls.
The neighbours called us strange brothers (laughs). The booming kutani yaki industry was showing signs of slowing down, so they must have wondered if they could make a living making tea bowls. They must have thought, "How can we make a living making tea cups?
In fact, there was no money. But I worked hard to improve my skills. Then there were people who watched me, people who helped me, and people who helped me in the kutani industry. That led to relationships with customers and the Imperial Household Agency, so I am very grateful for that. I have nothing but gratitude.

He still remembers what people said to him when he was first asked to work for the Imperial Household Agency.
He said, "Don't get carried away. They told me, 'Don't get carried away, they'll give you up. I really shouldn't get carried away.
Choza works hard every day to make tea bowls with humility and honesty. She wishes for the happiness of those who use them.

Ceramic History

June 1990
Commissioned by the Imperial Household Agency to produce vessels with the crest of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress
October 1990
Produced seven items of tableware with chrysanthemum designs for all Japanese tableware, including lacquerware used in the “Feast Ceremony” of the Accession Ceremony.
April 1991
Delivered 11 items of Japanese tableware for the Imperial Household Agency's “Feast Ceremony”.
February 1992
Produced confectionery tableware for the wedding celebration of Her Imperial Highness Princess Mako of Akishino
May 1993
Hors d'oeuvre plates for the wedding “Feast Ceremony” for Crown Prince Masako.
November 1993
Produced vessels with the Crown Prince Masako's crest on them.
June 1995
Produced confectionery dish for Princess Kako of the Akishino Family's private wedding celebration
October 2000
Produced a white porcelain gold brocade platter for the 125th anniversary of the Metric Convention for the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at the request of the Japanese government.
October 2007
Produced confectionery for the family of Prince Eugene Akishino for his wife's birthday celebration.
July, 2013
Commissioned by the Imperial Household Agency to produce a bonsai bowl with a design of a domestic chicken.
March, 2014　
Produced a bonsai pot of pine, bamboo, and plum at the request of the Imperial Household Agency.
March, 2015
Produced a gold brocade orchid pot at the request of the Imperial Household Agency
March, 2016
Received a request from the Imperial Household Agency, and produced an orchid bowl with a cloisonne pattern on a blue flower crane.
March, 2009
Produced an orchid bowl in blue and gold with a phoenix design at the request of the Imperial Household Agency
October 2028
Produced, together with his son, vessels with the crest of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress.
Six items of Japanese tableware continued to be used for the “Feast Ceremony” of the Accession Ceremony.
November 2020　
Produced vessels for use in the Imperial Household Agency's “Risshi Ceremony of the Imperial Heir”.
May 2022
Awarded the Spring conferment of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays.
 

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