The avant-garde ceramics group Sodeisha, which is considered to have marked the beginning of modern ceramics in Japan, was formed in 1948 by young artists in Kyoto, including Yagi Kazuo, Yamada Hikaru, and Suzuki Osamu. While respecting traditional ceramics, the core members of the Sodeisha promoted free and innovative expression that was not bound by the concept of ceramics, and pioneered a new genre of “objet d’art” pottery that was stripped of its utilitarian qualities. The pursuit of avant-garde ceramics by the artists who belonged to Sodeisha. Their activities were highly regarded overseas and created an era in the long history of Japanese ceramics as well as in the art world, becoming a major trend that continues to influence many artists to this day.
