1850-1924
male
Yokohagi Ikko II was born the child of Ikko I. He studied ceramics making from a young age under his father and helped assist his father’s work. In 1868, he began making Utatsu ware with his father in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. In 1871, he inherited the Uguisudani Hisada kiln and began making his own pottery (some argue that he began making pottery at the Uguisudani kiln around 1879). Later, he would give Uguisudani kiln to Nozaki Sakichi. After teaching ceramics making from 1882 to 1883 upon receiving an invitation to do so from the makers of Ango ware in Etchu Province, he returned to Kanazawa for several years to produce porcelain works. He also learned Raku ware and tea ceremony during this time from Hara Gozan.
However, his kiln was destroyed during a great flood in 1896, and from this point onward he produced pieces in Kyoto.
Initially, many of the pieces he produced beared artwork in the style of Aoiki Mokubei, but as the years went by he began to show changes in his style as he gradually approached an elegance not unlike that of Ninsei, with works decorated in fine artwork with the motifs of flowers, birds, plants, and insects.
After Yokohagi Ikko I passed away, he inherited the title “Ikko” and began working under the name Garyuzan Ikko. When he himself passed away, his third son, Ichizo, inherited the Ikko title, and continued making works in Kyoto. Ikko II was skilled in the art of porcelain making, and was praised as one of the last great ceramic makers of the early modern period, together with Uguisudani Shobei, who worked at Uguisudani kiln during the same time, and Seto’s Kato Shuntai.
