Kotaro Sakazume
Pottery and porcelain making is one of the oldest Japanese crafts, dating back to the Neolithic period, but Kotaro Sakazume is taking a non-formal approach.
Ceramics is an art form so ingrained in the evolution of Japan’s culture that there seem to be as many different forms of ceramics as there are people who practise it. In Shinagawa’s busy urban centre, Kotaro Sakazume, aka ‘Panda Sensei’, runs cosy, intimate ceramics workshops teaching guests his particular brand of clay crafting. “In 2014, I set up my production base in my current studio and started running pottery classes in 2017 as a way to make more money while working on my artworks,” Sakazume explains.
An artist by training, and a teacher now by trade, Sakazume makes pieces for a range of purposes, both as an expression of art and for more utilitarian purposes like photo shoots, in-store displays and everyday use.
His pieces have an endearing quality about them; they emit a feeling of casual playfulness. “I studied ceramics at Musashino Art University’s Department of Craft and Industrial Design, but have been self-taught since graduating from university without any apprenticeship,” says Sakazume, offering some insight into his unique, non-formal style of such a historic craft.
A Tokyo native, Sakazume is on a mission to help the city cultivate a ceramic legacy. “Currently, there is no ceramic industry in Tokyo that can be called a traditional craft,” he says. “So I would like to create something like that someday. Tokyo has an excellent traditional craft culture – art forms like Edo Sarasa [a type of silk printing] and Edo Kiriko are still being handed down today. However, as times change, values change. I believe that crafts and craft culture exist in order to be passed down from person to person.” This passing on and communication of culture, Sakazume believes, is the most valuable aspect of the craft evolution and something he says “should not change”. Essentially, what’s important is the message, not the medium. Although being a ceramics teacher on the side may have at first been a means to survive as an artist, it’s now a source of inspiration for his own creations. “I have a very good balance at the moment,” Sakazume says.