Miwa Ryosaku 三輪龍作 b. 1940

Miwa Ryosaku (b. 1940) was born as the eldest son of the prestigious Miwa pottery family. He was the twelfth member of his family to hold the title “Kyusetsu 休雪.” From a young age, artist closely observed his father and uncle creating Hagi pottery and quickly became familiar with the pottery style's distinctive materials and techniques. He was known as Miwa Kyusetsu XII, but to express his individuality as an artist and sculptor while maintaining his potter heritage, he assumed the name Miwa Ryosaku and published several artworks under this name to delineate between the professional identities of artist, sculptor, and potter. His younger brother is Miwa Kyusetsu XIII, who currently is at the helm for the Miwa Kyusetsu pottery lineage.

While Ryosaku uses the characteristic white tones of traditional Hagi glaze, which has been in use for twelve generations, he departs from tradition in both form and function, thus earning his reputation as a “Radical” artist. He was inspired by masters of Western modernity, particularly sculpture and painting which he admired. Miwa studied Goya and Soutine as a student in Tokyo and admired the powerful expressionism of painting.