Kutani Yaki Technical Training Institute | Putting Kutani Yaki to Work

Ishikawa Prefectural Kutaniyaki Technical Training Institute

At the Kutaniyaki Technical Training Institute, students can learn both painting and molding (such as rokuro), and they can also master almost all the techniques of Kutaniyaki in one step. The curriculum is designed to enable students to become active in the world of Kutaniyaki as professionals after graduation, and many graduates are actually active in the Kutaniyaki industry.

Graduation works show　The technical skills and originality fostered

Let's take a look at some of the works that our graduates have created for their graduation projects.

"Tokimeki Kutani Time.”
_Comment from the author_
Clocks are indispensable tools in our lives. Why don't you find your favorite clock and live with it?

"Rising Pleasure (Yuge)"
_Author's Comments_
The rising steam gives me a sense of happiness. The atmosphere and expression of a person enjoying a meal is represented by the steam and flowers in the decoration.

"Snap Shot NO.2"
_Comment from the artist_
This ceramic box represents my favorite places and landscapes. I created it with my emotions when I was in that place.

I've never turned a potter's wheel before,” or ”I've never painted overglaze enameling before. While the majority of trainees are such at the time of admission, they are able to create wonderful Kutani-yaki with a strong theme and originality through the two-year curriculum of the main course, as evidenced by their graduation works.

What you can learn at the Training Institute

The department and the main course (two-year course) are designed to acquire general knowledge and skills in ceramics. In the first year of the main course, students learn the basics necessary for making Kutani-yaki, and practical training is provided to acquire these skills. In the second year of the course, more advanced training and production are conducted. The basics learned in the first year of the course also become important.

Here are some of the things we actually do at the training center.

Basic Painting

In the practical training conducted in the early stages of the program, students are given the task of drawing straight, evenly spaced lines with a pigment called gozu, and then applying Japanese paints on top of the lines. Students learn how to handle brushes and paints.

Design practice “copying”
Students copying a bird book. Sketching and copying, which are the basics of painting, enable students to acquire the ability to depict correctly. Even if you have no experience in art, you can learn the fundamentals of art, which are essential for making Kutaniyaki through the design practice.

Rokuro molding” in molding practice
Even if you have no experience in rokuro molding, you can learn to do it through daily practice and guidance. There are about 30 electric rokuro in total, and each student is given a dedicated rokuro in the class.

The first thing to make is a sencha bowl. Once they are able to make a sencha-bowl, they will learn how to make a rice bowl and a 5” plate. In addition to rocro, basic molding techniques such as “tatara molding” and “tebineri molding” are also taught.

kokutani copying
The practice of copying the design of an Old Kutani platter onto a plain platter.

Large plates copied from Ko-Kutani are fired in the Nishiki Kiln at the institute using traditional wood-fired kilns. In addition to the Nishiki-gama (wood-fired kiln for overglaze painting), the institute is equipped with two gas kilns, three electric kilns, and four electric kilns for overglaze painting (two of which are lead-free). The trainees' daily assignments and prototypes are fired in these kilns.

Kutaniyaki Painting Techniques

From the first year of the course, students learn the techniques of Kutani-yaki painting in earnest.
Students learn a variety of other techniques, such as the technique of using red paint to create a pattern with a series of extremely fine lines and small blue dots placed at equal intervals.

copy of a picture of Shoza
Shoza (Kutani Shoza) is a wonderful potter and a driving force behind the Kutani ware boom of the Meiji period. To copy Shoza's work, which incorporates all the decorative techniques of Kutaniyaki, is to use all the basics and techniques of overglaze painting learned in the first year of the main course to complete the assignment.

Making Ornaments with Yose-gata Technique

Students will create figurines using the Yose-gata technique, which is a technique used to create figurines of more complex shapes. This is a practical training to test the skills of sketching and carving that students have acquired since the first year of the main course.

Graduation Production

In the graduation project of this course, students create an assigned work and a free work. The students put everything they have learned so far, including knowledge, techniques, and how to build concepts, into their work. When the graduation works are completed, a critique session is held with lecturers, and at the end of March, the “Graduation and Completion Works Exhibition” is held in the training institute's exhibition hall, where the public can view the works.

Attractive instructors

Up close and personal with the techniques of active potters!
In the painting and molding classes, you will be directly instructed by potters who are actually active at the forefront of the Kutaniyaki world. For example, Mr. Choza Yamamoto, the Imperial Household Agency's official potter, and Mr. Yoshiaki Yamada, a master of Kutani-yaki in overglaze enamels, are just a few examples. In the class, students are able to see up close the techniques that are normally only available in the studio of each teacher, and they are taught from the very beginning.

This is a work of Choza Yamamoto's underglaze blue work. The beautiful and richly expressed painting on the indigo-colored pieces is captivating.

Mr. Choza Yamamoto is in charge of the Sometsuke class. He teaches the techniques he has cultivated over the years.

Works by Yoshiaki Yamada, a master of Kutani in overglaze enamels. His realistic and beautiful world view, as if he had cut out a scene from nature, has been highly acclaimed.

Yoshiaki Yamada himself teaches a hands-on class in which he paints pictures based on sketches.

This is a work by Kazuyoshi Kitamura. Mr. Kitamura has collaborated with a number of famous brands. Mr. Kazuyoshi Kitamura teaches classes on blue grain and red ground gold techniques.

The instructor in charge of the rokuro molding class is Yasushi Takeuchi, who has opened “Moe Kiln.

These vessels are made using a mold-forming technique that is now considered rare. Atsushi Yamamoto is the inheritor of this technique.

You can learn this rare mold-forming technique directly from Atsushi Yamamoto.

Other potters who are active in the world of Kutaniyaki are also available to teach at the institute. Some of the trainees go on to work in the studios of the teachers they met at the training center after graduation.

Career Opportunities after Graduation

Mr. Okazaki, a graduate of the school. He is now living a fulfilling life as a Kutani-yaki artisan.

Many of the trainees have gone on to work in the Kutaniyaki industry after graduation. Some become independent right after graduation, while others find employment at the studio or kiln of the ceramic artist they studied under. For those who wish to become independent after employment, the Ishikawa Prefecture Kutani Pottery Artisan Independence Support Studio is available to help them become independent. The city of Nomi also has a system in place to introduce people to properties that can be used as both workshops and residences.
A well-developed curriculum and first-rate instructors. The school offers a full curriculum, first-rate instructors, and the appeal of being able to turn your “love of Kutani-yaki” into a career.