Sakurei OkamotoSakurai Okamoto

Sakurei Okamoto, who has a climbing kiln halfway up Mount Sakurei in Karatsu, continues to explore his own Karatsu ware from the atmosphere and indigenous nature of the land, pottery fragments from old Karatsu, etc. Naturally, there is no one artist who is the same, but Sakurei Okamoto is an artist who can sense a unique atmosphere from his works.

A fresh perspective on old Karatsu ware

Although he was influenced by Old Karatsu works, he has his own unique view that "Old Karatsu pottery was extremely innovative and new at the time 400 years ago," which is slightly different from the interpretation that it is simply pottery left behind by our ancient predecessors and has been handed down to the present day.
In order to create innovative and new Karatsu pottery for the modern era, he spends much of his production time gathering the clay and feldspar that are the raw materials for the glazes, and chopping the firewood used in firing. By focusing on the parts that are hard to see, a unique atmosphere is created, and it seems that the potter's wheel techniques he developed during his apprenticeship are what produce the lustrous pottery.

His painting is also highly regarded, and although it is simple and rustic, it reflects the sense of balance of Kokaratsu painting. By using logical and individual techniques such as materials, wheel-throwing, painting, glazing, and firing, his consistent style can be seen in all of his works, even if the genre has changed widely, for example, to Ekaratsu, Kurogoyō, and more recently Raku.

Manufacturing that makes use of local materials

Okamoto's current craftsmanship philosophy is "I aim to make Karatsu ware entirely from materials from around Mount Sakurei." He believes that the strength of pottery made in the pottery region of Karatsu lies in bringing out the unique characteristics and indigenous nature of the materials that are unique to Karatsu and firing new Karatsu that has never been seen before.

The understated pottery that he prefers is a feeling unique to Karatsu, and the intricacy that is not visible on the surface will gradually become apparent with continued use, fascinating users even more.