There are three sections in the exhibition that are Narushima Yaki, Yakishime, and Inlaid white porcelain. Wakui’s works can be purchased at the venue.

1) Narushima Yaki

Narushima Yaki is a pottery made in Yonezawa city, Yamagata Prefecture. Yozan Uesuzgi, the father of Yonezawa domain let Seizaemon Sagara, his vassal, learn the technique of Soma Yaki (Soma ware) in 1781, which eventually acknowledged as Narushima Yaki. After more than 100 years Fujio Wakui, a father of Osamu Wakui successfully revived Narushima yaki with his outstanding technique. He had been struggling with the clay for a long time and finally succeeded in expressing a taste of quietness and simplicity in his artwork. In addition to traditional white and blue of Narushima yaki, colors changed to blue purple and red purple by glazes in a kiln is one of a kind and can cannot be found elsewhere.

2) Yakishime (using no glazes, but strong flame only)

A special chemical reaction of the soil produced in Nagai city, fire, and soot, reveals a golden pattern on the surface of pottery in rare cases. Yakishime is characterized by not using any pigments or glazes, but with strong flame. The color changing to gold in kiln appears only in this environment in Naga city, and is not seen elsewhere.

3) Inlaid white porcelain

Although there are many works of top painting, which pigments are burned at lower temperature, there is no other white porcelain work made by overlapping the colored clay to about 20 layers in one unit. Because of its advanced and unparalleled technique Wakui’s works were purchased by the Imperial Household Agency in Japan at the traditional draft exhibition. Only five works out of one thousand were selected by the Emperor himself. Those distinctive works are presented to the state quest to express utmost hospitality of Japanese.

Osamu Wakui

Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1957. A regular member of Japan Art Crafts Group. A Chairperson of Yamagata Art and Crafts Group.

Osamu Wakui is a technical successor to Fujio Wakui (deceased, awarded intangible cultural assets) who revived Nagai yaki, a traditional potter of Nagai city, Yamagata Prefecture and Narushima Yaki, which is assumed a rare art craft. He is a traditional craftsman whose specialty is inlaid white porcelain, which is considered extremely difficult among a number of art crafts. His works have been accepted for Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition for New Work, and etc., and the Imperial Household Agency in Japan is favor of his works and has bought some of them. With his principles that learning from tradition, expressing in the real world, and succeeding to the future, he is challenging to enhance artistic value of modern art crafts in and out of Japan.

Dan Takeda

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1981. CEO of DAN TAKEDA FLOWER & DESIGN.

In 2008 Dan Takeda moved to Singapore alone and soon started working as a flower artist. His unique sensibility and elegant style have made him popular, and he has worked as a flower designing artist for leading worldwide luxury labels such as Louis Vuitton, HERMES, Cartier, and so on. Currently he has expanded his work field in Japan and abroad. He has collaborated not only with labels overseas, but with Hiroko Koshino, one of the most prominent Japanese fashion designers. He has also donated his works to top department stores in Singapore.