Kiyomizu Rokubei
Kiyomizu Rokubei is the title given to the leader of the Kyoto-based Kiyomizu family of ceramists. The studio has a history of more than 240 years and is now in its eighth generation, led by Rokubei VIII Masahiro.
Rokubei I, the founder, was born in Settsu near Osaka around 1735. He moved to Kyoto, learned pottery from Ebiya Seibei, and in 1771 opened his own studio near Kiyomizu Temple. He adopted the name Rokubei, and his mark, the rokumoku seal, has continued to be used by the family. He was active in Kyoto’s art circles and worked with Shijō school painters to decorate his finely decorated faience. He is especially admired for the three-color overglaze technique.
Rokubei II, born in 1790, was Rokubei I’s son. He learned from his father and became head in 1811. He continued the family’s glazed traditions and worked with blue-and-white porcelain as well. In 1838, he retired and was succeeded by his second son, Kuritarou. In 1840 he was asked to open a kiln in Echigo, where he created Oyama-yaki; he died in 1860.
Rokubei III, born in Kyoto in 1820, became head in 1838. In 1868 he changed the family surname from Kotō to Shimizu (an alternate reading for Kiyomizu). He guided the kiln through a period of change, balancing family tradition with new Western influences. He revived the kiln after Kyoto’s capital moved to Tokyo, and he produced Western-style pieces such as tea services. He was active in exhibitions and traveled to study and display work abroad, earning respect for his bold and innovative style.
Rokubei IV, born in 1848, took over in 1883. His work tended toward a subtler, more intellectual approach, with many pieces in Raku-yaki, Seto-yaki, and Shigaraki-yaki. He was skilled at painting decoration and helped organize Kyoto ceramics groups. He helped found the Kyoto Ceramic Research Institute in 1895 and worked to promote Japanese ceramics abroad. He retired in 1913 as Rokui and died in 1920.
Rokubei V followed, bringing a flexible, cosmopolitan approach. He studied painting and was influenced by Chinese porcelain, the Rinpa school, Art Nouveau, and Maiolica. He changed the family surname to Kiyomizu in 1928. He retired in 1945 and later used the name Rokuwa. He remained active in art circles into the 1950s and received many awards. In 2001 he was named among Japan’s most important living ceramists by a major art magazine. He died in 1959.
Rokubei VI, the eldest son of Rokubei V, joined the family kiln in 1925 and became head after his father’s retirement in 1945. He gained international recognition, exhibiting worldwide and helping raise Japanese ceramics on the world stage. He was made a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1962 and received the Order of Cultural Merit in 1976. He created new glazes and firing techniques in the 1950s and 1970s and was known for his versatility across styles. He collapsed at an exhibition in 1980 and died soon after.
Rokubei VII was adopted into the family in 1951 when he married Rokubei VI’s daughter. He studied at Tokyo University of the Arts, then shifted focus to sculpture in the late 1960s and 1970s, under the name Kiyomizu Kyūbei. He later returned to pottery and inherited the family headship in 1981, continuing to produce both contemporary sculpture and traditional ceramic pieces. He handed the Rokubei title to his eldest son in 2000 and remained active in sculpture until his death in 2006.
Rokubei VIII, Masahiro, is the current head since 2000. He is the eldest son of Rokubei VII and studied architecture, sculpture, and ceramics in Tokyo and Kyoto before joining the family kiln in 1983. He has won numerous national and international prizes and serves as an instructor of contemporary ceramics at the Kyoto University of Art and Design.
There is also a branch that started with Rokubei II’s son Takejirō, who founded Kiyomizu Shichibei. This line, the Tsuchitani kiln, was headed by Tsuchitani Zuikō III (b. 1928), with his sons Makoto and Akira also active in the family’s work.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:43 (CET).