Living National Treasure

Tamura Koichi (1918-1978) throughout his long career, demonstrated a mastery of wheel throwing, glazing and firing techniques. Initially his works showed the influence of Hamada, but quickly he became known for iron- glazed works that featured reddish-brown, persimmon glazed wax-resist designs against a black ground. A further innovation was his application of brushed white hakeme glaze beneath his iron-oxide patterning. Later on, he further augmented these designs with copper red and lastly experimented with a celadon green glaze ground. His work is characterized by strong brushwork and lyrical, asymmetrical designs. He was designated in 1986 as the Living National Treasure for tetsu-e techniques (iron-glazed patterned ceramics).

Tamura Koichi works are held in numerous museums
Brooklyn Museum, NY; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Tamura Koichi Museum, Sano; University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts University of Michigan Museum of Art; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT