Born in 1945, Kato Kobei 7 is the son of the famed Living National Treasure Kato Takuo, and the 7th generation Kato Kobei. He hails from a line of potters and took the name from his grandfather Kato Kobei 6th.

Kato has risen to the expectations set out for him as the son of a Living National Treasure. Where his fathers work focuses on historical glazes such as celadon and qingbai (blue and white) ware. The style was imported to Japan through economic and religious exchanges between China, India, Korea, and Japan in the medieval period, facilitated by the Silk Road and maritime trade. Kato Kobei’s works build upon this to also take on a more philosophical and existential theme. He considers humanity on a wider scale, asking himself how does material, shape, form, and surface combine to capture the essence of humanity. Perhaps the historical aspect to the glaze type, as well as his family’s kiln speaks to this inquiry.

On a technical level, Kobei has been working on the family’s signature blue glaze since a young age after his father. The Kato kiln has been developing and working on the historical Chinese Xuande, Sancai, and other style glazes since 1804 in Tajimi. In this vase, Kato 7 practices a green-blue glaze. The deep blue is vivid against the ceramic background and has been popular for centuries. The color is one of the Persian pottery styles imported to Japan across the Silk Road and maritime trade with China during the tang dynasty. Kobei takes this blue glaze and sensitively applies it to contemporary forms.

He is also famous for carrying on the tradition of Iranian lustreware in Japan, which was also inherited to the Japanese ceramic canon through extensive trade from the Silk Road and maritime Silk Road from the 10th century. In 2017, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Araghchi and the Sasakawa Peace foundation visited Kato Kobei’s workshop, recognizing the art histories associated with the family’s kiln. The long history of the Kato family speaks to the grand history of literate and global ceramic exchanges.

His avant garde take on traditional ceramics earned him an incredible number of awards and accolades, earning him the spot of perhaps one of the most celebrated contemporary potters of Japan. He is a beholder of Intangible cultural property in Tajimi prefecture, he was the youngest person ever to have been awarded Japan Fine Arts Exhibition Special Selection Hokuto Award at the time.

He currently serves as the Board Member and Fellow Member of the exhibition. Council Member of the Japan New Craft Art Association. He is also a member of the Mino Ceramic Society, the board member of Operations for the Asahi Ceramic Exhibition, the primary judge for the Chunichi International Exhibition of Ceramic Arts and other positions. His son, Kato Ryoutaro continues bearing the torch of the celebrated Kato family.