Tamura Kōichi 田村 耕一 1918-1987

Born in Sano, Tochigi, Japan

Tamura Koichi, throughout his long career, demonstrated a mastery of wheel throwing, glazing and firing techniques.  Since childhood, he showed a talent for drawing and assisted his father, a third generation doll maker.  It was a seminal visit to the mingei (folk art) potters Hamada Shoji and Sakuma Totaro in nearby Mashiko that drew him to the field of ceramics.

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).

British Museum, London, UK

Brooklyn Museum, NY

Cincinnati Art Museum, OH

Hagi Uragami Museum, Japan

Hikarigaoka Museum of Art, Japan

Kanō Museum of Art, Japan

Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Palm Beach County, FL

Musée national de la porcelaine Adrien-Dubouché, Limoges, France

Musée Tomo, Tokyo, Japan

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan

Sano Tōseki Art Museum, Mishima, Japan

Tamura Koichi Museum, Japan

Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Art, Japan

University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan

University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

Yoshizawa Memorial Museum of Art, Sano, Japan