Taizo Kuroda (1946-2021) was one of the most important artists in Japanese contemporary ceramics. Born in 1946 in Notogawacho city in Shiga Prefecture, he began his training in Canada in the 1970s and returned to Japan in 1981, where he completed his apprenticeship under the master ceramicist, Tatsuzo Shimaoka, who was later designated a Living National Treasure.

In the early 1990s, inspired by the beauty of Chinese Song and Korean Joseon Dynasty ceramics, Kuroda developed his own distinct style of making porcelain (pure white clay) vessels that have no glaze. He felt that by abandoning color and glaze, he was able to focus on form and technique. Many of his works are painstakingly burnished, using extremely fine grains of sandpaper to produce a soft, delicate surface that subtly reflects light. His works are minimalist in form and often feature irregular shapes. Large cracks are deliberately worked into some of his vessels, creating a look that fuses traditional form with a modern sensibility.

Towards the end of his life, Taizo Kuroda lived in a simple house he designed himself at the edge of a cliff in Futo.  He tended to his garden and a bamboo forest, but spend much of his time in his studio making white porcelain, a passion he pursued until he passed away in 2021.

Selected Works of Taizo Kuroda