Living National treasure

Tokuda (1933-2009) early on his career worked in the traditional style with a modern flavor and later developed a more personal style as seen in the examples. He invented a technique that enabled him to control the suffusion of kutani color glazes, creating a starburst effect that is, according to the artist, “somewhat in the manner of modern color-field painters such as Mark Rothko.” Tokuda was designated in 1997 as a Living National Treasure for his supremacy in in the use of Kutani glazes.

His works are held in many of the world museums including the British Museum, London, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo amongst others