Sakurei Okamoto

Sakurei Okamoto, who has a climbing kiln halfway up Mount Sakurei in Karatsu, is an artist who continues to explore his own Karatsu ware from the atmosphere and indigenous nature of the land, pottery fragments from Old Karatsu, etc. Although he is influenced by Old Karatsu works, he has his own unique view that "Old Karatsu pottery was very 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 ancestors and handed down to the present day.
His current craftsmanship philosophy is "I aim to make Karatsu ware entirely from materials from around Mt. Sakurei," and in order to create innovative and new Karatsu ware, he spends much of his production time collecting the clay used as material, feldspar which is the raw material for the glaze, and chopping firewood for use in firing.
His painting is also highly regarded, and although simple and rustic, it reflects the sense of balance found in old Karatsu painting.