Hazan Itaya
Pottery artist
Itaya Hazan was born in Shimodate-cho (now Chikusei City), Ibaraki Prefecture, in 1872 (Meiji 5). His real name was Itaya Kashichi. His first name was "Tsutsukawa", later "Hazan". 'Tsudokawa' is a reference to 'Tsudokawa', another name for the Gogyo River that flows through his hometown, and 'Hazan' to 'Mt Tsukuba', a famous mountain in his hometown.
In 1889 (Meiji 22), Namiyama entered the sculpture department of the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts), where he studied under Okakura Tenshin and Takamura Koun. However, he became more interested in ceramics than sculpture and left the school after two years to pursue a career as a potter.
Hazan aimed to create a new type of ceramics that combined traditional ceramic techniques with Western art. His masterpiece, the 'Large Vase with Painted Porcelain Butterbur Leaves Design', won the first prize at the Japan Art Association Exhibition in 1917 and made Hazan a household name.
Hazan went on to produce numerous masterpieces, including 'Celadon Tenmoku' and 'Tea Bowl'. He also devoted himself to the popularisation of ceramics, opening pottery classes and training younger artists.
Hazan was a pioneer of modern Japanese ceramics and the first ceramic artist to be awarded the Order of Cultural Merit. He was also made an Honorary Prefectural Citizen of Ibaraki Prefecture.
Hazan's representative works include the following.
Large vase with butterbur leaf design in coloured porcelain (1917)
Celadon porcelain tenmoku (1924)
Tea bowl (1927)
Celadon vase with floral and bird design (1933)
Celadon glazed water jar with flower basket design (1940)
Hazan's works are still much loved for their beauty and power.
