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 Exhibitions
2025 Asia Week New York, US
2024 Asia Week New York, US
—2023 Japan Traditional Kōgei Annual Exhibition, Japan
—2023 The Ceramic Art Society of Japan Annual Exhibition, Japan
—2023 Living National Treasure Annual Exhibition, Japan
2016 Creating Handicrafts, Living National Treasure Exhibition, Wako,
Tokyo, Japan
2007 Solo Exhibition, Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, Poland
2000 Solo Exhibition, Belem Cultural Center, Portugal
1999 Solo Exhibition “Rainer III de Monaco 50th Anniversary,” Monaco
Selected Awards
2002 Received the West Japan Cultural Award
1997 Received the Japanese Government’s Medal with Purple Ribbon
1987 Received the Minister of Education, Science and Culture Prize at
the Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition
1986 Received the Saga Prefecture Arts and Culture Achievement
Award
Selected Public Collections
Philadelphia Museum of Art | Pennsylvania, US
Yale University Art Gallery | Connecticut, US
Minneapolis Institute of Art | Minnesota, US
Tokyo National Museum | Tokyo, Japan
Museum of Kyushu Sangyo University | Fukuoka, Japan
Museum of Modern Art | Ibaraki, Japan
Museum of Fine Arts | Gifu, Japan
The National Museum of Modern Art | Tokyo, Japan
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum | Saga, Japan
The Museum of Ceramic Art | Hyogo, Japan
Higashi-Hiroshima City Museum of Art, Hiroshima | Japan
Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan