1902-1985
male
living national treasure
Kondo Yuzo was designated a living national treasure and left a remarkable legacy to Japanese ceramics. He was born in 1902 on the very site of this memorial museum, just outside the gate of Kiyomizu Temple. At the age of 12, he entered the training facility of the Ceramics Laboratory to learn to use the potter’s wheel. It was there that he met Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji.
Starting when he was 19, he spent three years as an assistant to Tomimoto Kenkichi in Nara.
He established his own studio in the same area when he was 22. There he devoted himself to refining his artistic vision and perfecting his technique.
Thus he was able to reach new heights in his work and gained a reputation as the finest master of the blue and white porcelain known as sometsuke.
In 1924, he attended the Western-style painting institute of the Kansai Art Institute, where he improved his painting techniques.
In 1928, his work was selected for the first time at the 9th Teiten exhibition, and since then he has been active at both the Teiten and Shin Bunten exhibitions, receiving a special prize at the 3rd Shin Bunten exhibition in 1939.
After the war, he joined the New Artistic Crafts Association, which was founded by Kenkichi Tomimoto in 1951. He also participated in Japan Kogei Association, which was established in 1955, and exhibited his works at the Japan Traditional Craft Exhibition.
He became a professor at Kyoto City University of Arts in 1958, where he taught the younger generation, and became the president of the university in 1965.
In 1977, he was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) for his blue and white technique.
