Kiyomizu Rokubei (清水六兵衛) While references to previous generations use the anglicization Rokubei, references to the current head also appear as Rokubey or Rokubee. is the name bestowed on the head of the Kyoto-based Kiyomizu family of ceramists. With over 240 years of history, the studio is now into its eighth generation. It is currently headed by contemporary ceramist and sculptor Rokubei VIII. The family was influential in the development and survival of Kyō ware.
Kiyomizu family heads Professional name Life dates Year of headship Other names Kotō Rokubei c. 1735–1799Tazawa lists Rokubei's birth year as 1737 (1981, 554); Roberts as 1733? (1990, 130), and the Kobijutsu yakata website as 1738. 1771 Birth name: Kotō Kuritarō (古藤栗太郎), Gō: Gusai (愚斎) Kotō Rokubei II 1790–1860 1811 Birth name: Shōjirō (正次郎), Gō: Seisai (静斎), Retirement name: Rokuichi (六一) Kotō Rokubei III/ Shimizu Rokubei III 1820–1883 1838 Gō: Shōun:(祥雲) Shimizu Rokubei IV 1848–1920 1883 Birth name: Shōjirō (正次郎) Gō: Shōrin (祥麟), Retirement name: Rokui(六居) Shimizu Rokubei V/ Kiyomizu Rokubei V 1875–1959 1913 Birth name: Kuritarō (栗太郎), Gō: Shōrei (祥嶺), Retirement name: Rokuwa (六和) Kiyomizu Rokubei VI 1901–1980 1945 Birth name: Shōtarō (章太郎), Gō: Rokusei (禄晴) Kiyomizu Rokubei VII 1922–2006 1981 Birth name: Shō (洋), Gō: Hiroshi (裕詞), Sculptor name: Kiyomizu Kyūbei (清水九兵衛) Kiyomizu Rokubei VIII b. 1954 2000 Birth name: Masahiro (柾博)
Kiyomizu Rokubei I Born Kotō Kuritarō in Settsu, Osaka around 1735,Roberts 1990, 130 Rokubei was the son of a farmer named Kotō Rokuzaemon (古藤六左衛門). Sometime between 1748 and 1751, he moved to Kyoto and began to study pottery under Ebiya Seibei (海老屋清兵衛), acknowledged as the "first recorded potter of Kyomizu [sic] faience".Brinkley, 209 In 1771, he opened his own studio in the Gojōzaka district of Kyoto, near Kiyomizu Temple, and took the name Rokubei.Tazawa 1981, 554 The three characters making up this name are a combination of those in his father's and teacher's names.
According to some accounts, the name Rokubei was given to him by the abbot-prince of Myōhō Temple (妙法院),Brinkley, 211 who was very favourably impressed with a set of black Raku ware cups the potter made him. It is known that the abbot-prince gave him a seal to use as his mark:Roberts 1990, 130; Brinkley 211; http://www.tenpyodo.com/artist_kiyomizurokube.html ; etc. the character 清 (pronounced sei or kyo) bounded by a hexagon.The 'roku' character in Rokubei (六) signifies the number 6. The seal's character was written by a priest from Tenryū-ji Temple,Tazawa 1981, 555 and is the first character in Kiyomizu. This mark, the rokumoku seal (六目印),Tazawa 1981, 555 has continued to be used through the Kiyomizu generations, although the second family head added a double line to the hexagon to distinguish the works of the first Rokubei.Roberts 1990, 131
Rokubei was active in Kyoto art circles and counted among his friends the painters Maruyama Ōkyo, Matsumura Goshun,Roberts 1990, 130 and Tanomura Chikuden.Tazawa 1981, 555 He was known to have enlisted these friends from the Shijō school of painting to decorate his pieces.Brinkley, 211 He specialized in finely decorated faience,Roberts 1990, 130; Brinkley, 211 and remains particularly admired for his three-colour overglaze (iro-e) technique.Tazawa 1981, 555
Kiyomizu Rokubei II Born in 1790 in Kyoto, he was the son of Rokubei I. He studied under his father until the latter's death in 1799. At just nine years of age, he was too young to take over the family kiln. He continued his studies until 1811, when he became atelier head as Rokubei II. As such, he continued the traditions begun by his father, particularly the development of coloured, semi-transparent glazes.Brinkley, 212 He produced pieces inspired by various types of pottery, including Seto ware and Shigaraki ware. In later life, he worked in blue and white porcelain, although it has been suggested this was not his strength.“Makers of this class of ware in Kyoto never showed originality consistent with their achievements in faience. Their designs were copied, for the most part, from Chinese models; their blue was of inferior quality and they confined themselves chiefly to the production of insignificant pieces ..." (Brinkley, 212–213)
In 1838, Rokubei II retired to be succeeded by his second son, Kuritarou. Rokubei II took the name Rokuichi (六一). In 1840 he was asked by the daimyō of Nagaoka in Echigo (present-day Niigata) to open a kiln. He did in 1843, creating the Oyama-yaki pottery.http://story.turuta.jp/2011/05/o4-33.html He died in 1860.
Kiyomizu Rokubei III Born in Kyoto in 1820, Kuritarō was the second son of Rokubei II. He became head of the family business and assumed the name Rokubei III at 18 when his father retired in 1838. In 1868, he again changed his name, substituting the surname Kotō with Shimizu, an alternate reading for the characters making up Kiyomizu (清水). He used the same potter's mark as Rokubei I, however, substituted the latter’s square characters with cursive ones.Brinkley, 213
Rokubei III was responsible during this tumultuous time for maintaining the Kiyomizu kiln and for ensuring its resurgence while respecting family tradition. He also joined in efforts to revive Kyoto industry following the transfer of the capital to Tokyo in 1868. While preserving the techniques of his forebears, Rokubei III was also open to new, foreign influences. He was greatly affected by Modernism, and produced western items such as coffee cups. In 1879, he was one of the ceramists commissioned to make a tea service for use during the visit of former US president Ulysses S. Grant.Jahn 2004, 238
By the late 1860s, Kiyomizu Rokubei III, like other heads of the long-established Kyoto potteries, realized the advantages of modernization and of attempting to accommodate Western tastes.Jahn 2004, 96 In 1868, together with potter Miyagawa Kōzan, he visited Yokohama to learn about western manufacturing and painting techniques.Jahn 2004, 96 This shift in orientation was encouraged by government authorities, who awarded prizes to ceramists— including Rokubei III— for excellence in western-style works.Jahn 2004, 97 The Kiyomizu kiln, however, remained fairly conservative in its output, sticking predominantly to traditional pieces and styles.Jahn 2004, 96
Rokubei III traveled to Hikone to study Seto-yaki. He was admired for his skill with blue and white porcelain, celadon and red-glaze ceramics. He was also concerned with decoration, and studied with Nanga painter Oda Kaisen (小田海僊). His style has been described as "bold", "unique" and "daring". He frequently served on juries and won medals at domestic exhibitions, including the Kyoto Exhibition (1875), the Domestic Industrial Exhibition (1877), and the Nagoya Exhibition (1878). His works also featured in exhibitions in Paris, Sydney and Amsterdam.
Kiyomizu Rokubei IV Rokubei IV was born in 1848, the oldest son of Rokubei III. He took over the headship in 1883 upon his father's death. He was known for his subtle, intellectual works, which contrasted with his father's dramatic style. Most of his pieces were Raku-yaki, Seto-yaki, Shigaraki-yaki, and other traditional ceramic styles. He was especially skilled at crab decorations, a trend of the period. He studied painting with Shiokawa Bunrin, a Shijō school painter who was strongly influenced by Western art.
Rokubei IV was active in Kyoto art circles, helping to establish the Gojōzaka Ceramics Union, the Yutōen (遊陶園) ceramics organization, the Society for Ceramics Appreciation (京都陶磁器品評会), and the Kami Kai (佳美会) with painter/ designer Kamisaka Sekka (神坂雪佳). In 1895 he co-founded the Kyoto Ceramic Research Institute.“The institute instructed the pupils and apprentices of established craftsmen in technical and artistic matters. Almost all Notable Kyoto painters of the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa eras… were trained here.” (Jahn 2004, 100) He participated in initiatives to popularize Japanese arts abroad. During the 1880s, he participated in art exhibitions as a competitor and judge.
He retired in 1913 in favour of his son, and took the name Rokui. He died in 1920, leaving a legacy of having synthesized the techniques of the Kiyomizu family and truly defined the Rokubei style. A porcelain tōrō lantern made by Rokubei IV donated by Rokubei V in 1938 stands on the grounds of the Tokyo National Museum garden.
Kiyomizu Rokubei V As an adolescent, Rokubei V studied painting under Shijō master Kōno Bairei (幸野楳嶺), and at the Kyoto Municipal School of Painting (京都府画学校). After graduating, he apprenticed with his father, Rokubei IV. Following Bairei's death in 1895, he also studied with Takeuchi Seihō (竹内栖鳳). In 1895, he exhibited his first ceramic piece at the National Industrial Exposition (内国勧業博覧会). Stylistically, Rokubei V was open to various influences. He took inspiration from Chinese porcelain, the Rinpa school of painting, Art Nouveau and Maiolica. He was particularly skilled at celadon and traditional overglazed enamel.Tazawa 1981, 554
Due to his father's ill health, Rokubei V was a leading figure at the family kiln from 1902, although he did not officially take over until 1913. In 1928 he changed the family surname to Kiyomizu and applied it retroactively to previous generations. In 1945 he retired and took the name Rokuwa (六和). He continued, nonetheless, to produce ceramics throughout the 1950s.
Throughout his career, Rokubei V was highly active in art associations. He was a co-founder of the Yutōen (遊陶園) study group, the Ceramics Studies Association (陶芸研究団体), the Kyoto Ceramics Research Facility (京都市陶磁器試験場), the Japan Crafts Association (日本工芸会), and the Gojō kai (五条会).https://www.nagaragawagarou.com/visualmuseum/m-godai-shimizu-rokubee.html; http://www.tenpyodo.com/artist_kiyomizurokube.html He was also awarded numerous prizes from the mid-1910s on, including at the National Fine Art Exhibition (全国美術展) and the annual Nōshōmushō Exhibition (農商務省展). In 1930 he was made a member of the Imperial Art Academy (帝国美術院会), and in 1931, he received a medal from the French president. Rokubei V died in 1959. In 2001, he was voted 21st Most Important and Most Popular Japanese Ceramist in the Last 100 Years by Japanese art magazine Honoho Geijutsu.
Kiyomizu Rokubei VI Rokubei VI, the eldest son of Rokubei V, graduated from the Kyoto City School of Art and Craft (京都市立美術工芸学校) and Kyoto Municipal College of Painting (京都市立絵画専門学校) before apprenticing with his father from 1925. That same year, he entered his first competition. His career was to be marked by success in exhibitions including numerous awards at the Bunten (文展), Teiten (帝展) and Nitten (日展). He was later frequently selected as a judge and director of these national exhibitions. He enjoyed international acclaim, showing pieces at exhibitions, having his works join museum collections and winning awards in Belgium, the USSR, France and Italy. He was made a member of the Japan Art Academy (日本芸術院会) in 1962 and awarded the Order of Cultural Merit (文化功労) in 1976.Tazawa 1981, 555
Both before and after he became Rokubei VI in 1945, he participated in efforts to promote young artists by founding a variety of organizations. He was one of "the first wave of 'individualist' potters in contemporary Japanese history", known for his unique pieces and innovations. He created new glazes in 1953 and 1971, and invented a new firing technique in 1955. He was skilled at various Japanese and non-Japanese styles of pottery and praised for his versatility.
In 1980, Rokubei VI collapsed while visiting an exhibition celebrating the Kiyomizu family's history. He died soon after.
Kiyomizu Rokubei VII