The Sydney-born and Tajimi-based aritist and designer Ion Fukazawa is a rising star in the Japanese pottery industry, with his sculptural contemporary ceramic works. He graduated from the College of Fine Arts (UNSW Arts and Design) with a Bachelor of Design in ceramics in 2014. During his studies, he was awarded a scholarship-funded position in an international collaborative student design studio. This project took him to the rainforests of Borneo to study the traditional crafts of the Iban people, expanding his interest in traditional ceramics techniques. His articulation of Kogei 工藝, or Japanese traditional crafts, elaborates on this interest.

After studying conceptual and experimental design at the Utrecht School of Arts in the Netherlands, he was awarded an Australia Council ArtStart Grant, allowing him to launch MUKUMONO Ceramics. Through this design brand he worked with various resturants and clients around Australia, including Ester, Six Penny, Sony Australia, Sunda Dinning, Shobosho and more. After his journey exploring the relationship between art, design, form and function, he travelled to Japan to undertake a research program at The Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center (Ishoken), under Harumi Nakashima to follow his interests in Contemporary Kogei. Here, his interest in the ceramic form and tradition took flight. His works now return to materiality, interrogating its fundamental elements through his sculptural series.