Inoue Manji was born in 1929, learning to specialize in Arita ware—a traditionally colorful pottery form. Soon, however, he began working in white porcelain and became celebrated worldwide for the graceful medium. Hakuji is created by pouring a transparent glaze over white clay (Kaolin) and firing at a high temperature. Inoue demands perfection in shape and is known to be unforgiving, rejecting even a millimeter of distortion. He states that, “hakuji expresses itself through form rather than added decoration,” and his pieces exemplify this truth through refined curves and purely rounded forms rather than distracting surface decor. Simple lines belie their power as viewers’ eyes are lost in the infinite depth of pure white peaks and valleys. The smooth, soft, silky surface of these delicately hardened forms characterizes the unmatched beauty of Manji’s work.
Selected Awards and Exhibitions
2020 Asia Week, New York, US
2019 The 66th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, Japan
2018 Living National Treasure Exhibition, MOA Museum of Modern Art, Shizuoka, Japan
2007 Solo Exhibition, Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, Poland
2002 Recipient of the Nishi Nippon Cultural Award
1997 Recipient of the Japanese Government’s Medal with Purple Ribbon
1987 Awarded the Minister of Education, Science and Culture Prize at the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition
Selected Collections
Museum of Modern Art | Ibaraki, Japan
Museum of Fine Arts | Gifu, Japan
National Museum of Modern Art | Tokyo
Yale University Art Gallery | New Haven, Connecticut
Minneapolis Institute of Art | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan