Tomimoto Kenkichi


Tomimoto Kenkichi was a Japanese potter and a Living National Treasure.

Biography

His family came from Nara prefecture.
He received a commission to design a large Japanese-lacquered zelkova shelf called “kingin-sai kazari tsubo” for the Ume-no-Ma audience room of Tokyo Imperial Palace.
In November 1914, Tomimoto married Otake Kazue, a niece of the artist Otake Chikuha. Kazue was at one time a member of the feminist literary group Seito. A controversial figure in her youth, Kazue had a close relationship with Raicho Hiratsuka. It is thought that Tomimoto may have drawn an early draft of the woodblock print which Otake finished and submitted to Seito, which appeared as the cover of the 1913 New Year's issue of Seito magazine.
After marrying, the couple moved to Nara, Japan. Tomimoto and Kazue had three children together, but later separated.

Honors

He was a recipient of the Order of Culture. He was also named a Living National Treasure.
The Tomimoto Kenkichi Memorial Museum was opened in 1974 in Ando, Nara.