Kitaōji Rosanjin

  • Exhibitions

  • biography

    Solo exhibitions:

    1925 The 1st solo exhibition, TsukigaokaRestaurant
    1928 Mitsukoshi Department Store Gallery, Nihonbashi, Tokyo
    1929 Mitsukoshi Department Store Galleries, Nihonbashi, Tokyo and Osaka
    1929 Mitsukoshi Department Store Galleries, Nihonbashi, Tokyo and Osaka
    1930 Hoshigaoka kiln works, Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Nagoya
    1934 Kitaoji Family Ceramic Collection Exhibition, Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Ueno, Tokyo
    1935 100 Works by Rosanjin, Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Ueno, Tokyo
    1936 Rosanjin Recent works: Bowls, Hoshigaoka Restaurant, Osaka
    New painting exhibition, Hankyu Department Store Gallery, Osaka
    1938 Recent small painting exhibition, Sanmaido Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo
    1939 Rosanjin Ceramics Exhibition, Osaka
    1941 Painting and ceramic exhibition, Takashimaya Department Store Gallery, Osaka
    1949 Seisenkaku, Kanazawa
    1955 Rosanjin Works Exhibition, Kyoto Art Club, Kyoto (both spring and fall; also in '56, 57, '58)
    Kanazawa Art Club, Kanazawa
    Takashimaya Department Gallery, Tokyo (also in '56, '57, 58)
    1957 Works by Rosanjin: Ceramics and Calligraphy, Meitetsu Department Store Gallery, Nagoya
    1958 Kochukyo, Tokyo
    1959 Calligraphy exhibition, Kyoto Art Club, Kyoto

    1883 Born in the village of Kamigamo to the north of Kyoto as the second son of Shinto priest Kiyoaya Kitaioji
    Given name Kitaioji Fusajirô
    1889 Left the Hattori famly in April and was registered as the adopted son of Takezô Fukuda, a woodblock carver
    1895 Inspired the works by Takeuchi Seiho, aspires to become a painter
    1899 Becomes a painter of the then-popular Western-style signboards; studied calligraphy
    1900 Started to collect antiques
    1903 Settled in Tokyo
    1905 Became a live-in apprentice of the renowned commercial calligrapher Katei Okamoto
    1907 Left Okamoto and became an independent calligrapher
    Began accepting calligraphy pupils under the name Fukuda Ôtei
    1910 Visited Seoul, Korea and stayed there for three years
    On the way to Japan, met Chinese calligrapher and seal engraver Wu Chang-shi in Shanghai
    1913 Went by the artist name Fukuda Taikan. Visted Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, and carved inscriptions on wooden plaques for wealthy local merchants. Through friend, was introduced to Kyoto magnate and art collector Naiki Seiki, whose influence on Rosanjin was to be enormous. Rosanjin began touring around, taking meals at the homes of friends and patrons along the way
    1915 Succeeded to the Kitaôji name. He toured the Hokuriku district, and first became to be involved in pottery making, decorating blue-and-white porcelain and red overglaze enameled wares, at the kiln of the potter Suda Seika in Ishikawa
    1916 Used the name Kitaôji Rokei (Rokyô) on advertising leaflets for his seal engraving buisiness.
    1919 Began antique appraisal business with Nakamura Takeshiro
    1921 Began membership-based Gourmets' Club (Bishoku kurabu); the club becomes fashionable among Tokyo food-lovers
    1922 Changed name into Kitaôji Rosanjin
    1924 Produced dishes such as porcelain for the Gourmets' Club, and met a ceramic artist Arakawa Toyozô
    1925 Opened Hoshigaoka Restaurant in the precincts of Hie Shrine; Rosanjin became manager and chief chef
    1926 Established the kiln in order to produce dishes for the Hoshigaoka Restaurant. Next year, Arakawa Toyozô joined and became the director of the kiln
    1928 Investigated old kilns in Korea
    1930 Arakawa discovered an old kiln in Mino. Rosanjin supported his investigation
    1936 Fired from the Hoshigaoka Restaurant
    More focused on producing ceramics, especially for the commission of the custom-made gift set
    1940 In addition to pottery, began to produce paintings
    1943 Focused on producing lacquer wares
    1945 Lost Tsukigaoka restaurants in Tokyo and Osaka by fire during the war
    1946 Opened the ceramic shop "Kadokado bibô" in Ginza, Tokyo and changed the name of the kiln into "Rosanjin Ceramic Arts Institute"
    1949 Visited Bizen potter Kanashige Tôyô with Isamu Noguchi
    1951 Noguchi and his wife moved in next door to Rosanjin in Yamazaki, and set up a studio
    1952 Began producing Bizen style pottery
    Rosanjin 25-year of his career Exhibition, Takashimaya Department Store Gallery, Tokyo
    Rosanjin Ceramic Works Exhibition, Urasenke Tea Society, Kyoto
    1953 Mrs. John D. Rockfeller III visited Rosanjin in Yamazaki.
    Commissioned murals Sakura [Cherry Blossoms] and Fuji, to decorate the smoking room of a Panamanian ship, exhibited in Takashimaya Department Store
    1954 Visited the Û.S. and Europe with 200 works, invited by Rockfeller Foundation; gave lectures at Museum of Modern Art and other museums; and donated works to various institutions
    1955 Asked to accept to be a Living National Treasure for Oribe glaze, but declined
    1959 Died at the age of 76


    Awards:

    1904 Won a first prize at the prestigious Nitten Art Exhibiion for the calligraphy in clerical script style (reisho). The winning work was eventually purchased by Viscount Kôken Tanaka, Minister of the Imperial Household.
    1905 Entry to the Nitten Art Exhibition again for a work in block style (kaisho), under the name of Fukuda Kaitsu

    Solo exhibitions:

    1925 The 1st solo exhibition, TsukigaokaRestaurant
    1928 Mitsukoshi Department Store Gallery, Nihonbashi, Tokyo
    1929 Mitsukoshi Department Store Galleries, Nihonbashi, Tokyo and Osaka
    1929 Mitsukoshi Department Store Galleries, Nihonbashi, Tokyo and Osaka
    1930 Hoshigaoka kiln works, Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Nagoya
    1934 Kitaoji Family Ceramic Collection Exhibition, Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Ueno, Tokyo
    1935 100 Works by Rosanjin, Matsuzakaya Department Store Gallery, Ueno, Tokyo
    1936 Rosanjin Recent works: Bowls, Hoshigaoka Restaurant, Osaka
    New painting exhibition, Hankyu Department Store Gallery, Osaka
    1938 Recent small painting exhibition, Sanmaido Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo
    1939 Rosanjin Ceramics Exhibition, Osaka
    1941 Painting and ceramic exhibition, Takashimaya Department Store Gallery, Osaka
    1949 Seisenkaku, Kanazawa
    1955 Rosanjin Works Exhibition, Kyoto Art Club, Kyoto (both spring and fall; also in '56, 57, '58)
    Kanazawa Art Club, Kanazawa
    Takashimaya Department Gallery, Tokyo (also in '56, '57, 58)
    1957 Works by Rosanjin: Ceramics and Calligraphy, Meitetsu Department Store Gallery, Nagoya
    1958 Kochukyo, Tokyo
    1959 Calligraphy exhibition, Kyoto Art Club, Kyoto


    Group exhibitions:

    1951 Selected to Contemporary Japanese Ceramics Exhibition, Musée Chernuschi, Paris; the exhibition traveled to Vallauris, France, where Rosanjin's work attracts the attention of Paolo Picasso
    1954 Exhibition was held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, presenting some 250 works. The exhibition traveled to London, Paris, and Rome
    1959 Contemporary Japanese Ceramics Exhibition, National Museum of Art, Tokyo


    Reference:
    Cardozo, Sidney B., and Masaaki Hirano. The Art of Rosanjin. New York: Kodansha International LTD., 1987.

  • Kitaōji Rosanjin

    Kitaōji Rosanjin

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  • video

  • Rosanjin biography

    Rosanjin biography

    (1883-1959)

    Master of an enormous range of glazes, KITAŌJI ROSANJIN produced superb functional vessels and tableware in stoneware and porcelain that were used in his celebrated and exclusive eating club in Tokyo. In addition to ceramics, he also painted, created lacquerware, carved seals, and practiced calligraphy. A friend of Noguchi Isamu, Rosanjin traveled to the US and Europe towards the end of his life, where his work was already receiving broad recognition. When selected in 1955 as Living National Treasure for his mastery of Oribe, he indignantly declined the honor, as Arakawa Toyozō, his former apprentice, had already been selected for Shino ceramics. Worldwide, Rosanjin is the best-known Japanese ceramist of the twentieth century.

  • pull quote

    Without extraordinary ideas there can be no extraordinary results.

    ROSANJIN

  • biography continued

    biography continued

    1883                Born in Kamigamo to the north of Kyoto, the second son of a Shinto priest
    1895                Inspired by the work of Takeuchi Seihō, aspired to become a painter
    1899                Became a painter of the then-popular Western-style signboards; studies calligraphy
    1903                Settled in Tokyo
    1907                Became an independent calligrapher under the name Fukuda Ōtei
    1915                Succeeded to the Kitaōji name and started pottery making
    1919                Began antique appraisal business with Nakamura Takeshiro
    1921                Inaugurated hugely successful Tokyo membership-based eating club
    1922                Changed his name to Kitaōji Rosanjin (meaning “foolish mountain man”)
    1924                Started working with ceramic artist Arakawa Toyozō
    1925                Opened Hoshigaoka restaurant near Hie Shrine in Tokyo as manager and chief chef
    1926                Established kiln for Hoshigaoka in Kamakura with Arakawa Toyozō as director
    1930                Arakawa discovered an old kiln in Mino conducting research financed by Rosanjin
    1936                Left restaurant to focus on ceramics

  • biography continued pt 3

    biography continued pt 3

    1940-43           In addition to pottery, began to produce paintings and lacquerware
    1949                Visited Bizen potter Kaneshige Tōyō with Noguchi Isamu
    1951                Noguchi and his wife moved next door to Rosanjin in Yamazaki and set up studio at Rosanjin’s invitation. Selected to exhibit in Exhibition of Modern Japanese Pottery, Musée Cernuschi, Paris; the exhibition traveled to Vallauris, where work attracted the attention of Pablo Picasso
    1952                Began producing Bizen style pottery
    1953                Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III visited Rosanjin in Yamazaki
    1954                Visited the US and Europe with 200 works at invitation of Rockefeller Foundation Exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, presenting some 250 works. Lectured at Museum of Modern Art and other museums; and donated works. The exhibition traveled to London, Paris, and Rome. Met Picasso and Chagall in Vallauris
    1955                Offered and declined the designation of Living National Treasure for Oribe glaze
    1959                Died at the age of 76
    Countless posthumous exhibitions throughout Japan through to the present