Kitaoji Rosanjin

Rosanjin began his career as a calligrapher and painter of shop signs. One of his clients, the potter Seika Suda (1862–1927) invited Rosanjin to decorate pottery with pictorial and calligraphic designs. Later in his peripatetic career, he created pottery for use in the restaurants he owned and where he served as chef. Facing wide demand for his ceramic wares, Rosanji opened a kiln in Kamakura, directing a large workshop of potters that included of the most talented potters of the time. Best known for the Bizen-style ceramics he produced from 1945 on, Rosanjin also applied his highly refined and abstract aesthetic to a variety of traditional wares and styles.