Shimaoka Tatsuzō 島岡 達三 1919-2007

Shimaoka Tatsuzō was the foremost pupil of Hamada Shoji (1894-1978) until his recent death, was regarded as Japan's leading folk craft potter. Shimaoka's signature style, known as "Jomon-zogan" in Japanese, combines cord-impressed decoration and the white-slip inlay technique used in the Punch'ong ware, popular in the Choson Dynasty of Korea. Shimaoka's use of a variety of glazes enhanced the richness of his folk style tableware. He also successfully developed a Western-influenced salt glaze technique that Hamada had first introduced. For his mastery of the Jōmon technique of rope-impressed stoneware, he was named a Living National Treasure in 1996. He was also an incredibly influential teacher of a new generation of ceramists.

1920 Born in Tokyo
1941 Graduated from the ceramic department of Tokyo Technical University
1946 Became pupil of Hamada Shōji (1894-1978)
1949 Worked for the Tochigi Prefecture Ceramic Training Institute
1950 Helped Shirasaki Shunji make replicas of Jomon earthenware
1954 Built kiln in Mashiko next to Hamada
1968 Visiting lecturer at summer courses at University of California, Long Beach and University of California, San Diego. Traveled to Europe.
1982 Lecture tour to Canada sponsored by the Japan Foundation
1989 The Tokyo National Modern Art Museum adds Salt Glaze Inlay Jômon Plate to their collection.
1996 Hosted NHK educational television series, part 13 The New Ceramics
2007 Passed away in December

Awards:

1962 Japan Folk Art Museum Prize, Japan Folk Art Museum Exhibition of New Works
1980 Tochigi Prefecture Cultural Merits
1994 Gold Prize, Japanese Ceramic Exhibition
1996 Designated by the Japanese government as Living National Treasure Mino Prefecture Folk Art Prize

Selected Public Collections:

Art Complex Museum, Duxberry Massachusetts
Art Institute of Chicago
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Asian Art Museums of San Francisco
Brooklyn Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Honolulu Academy of Arts
Los Angeles County Museum, CA
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA