Kiyomizu Rokubei
Kiyomizu Rokubei is the hereditary title of an influential Kyoto ceramics family whose workshop has produced Kyō ware across eight generations.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Kiyomizu Rokubei is not a conventional commercial brand but the hereditary name used by the heads of a Kyoto-based family of ceramic artists. The lineage traces its formal beginnings to 1771, when Kotō Kuritarō, a potter originally from Settsu in Osaka, established a workshop in Kyoto's Gojōzaka district near Kiyomizu Temple and adopted the name Rokubei. The family subsequently became one of the important forces in the development, preservation and modernization of Kyō ware. The first Rokubei was associated with finely decorated faience and was especially respected for three-colour overglaze painting. He worked within Kyoto's artistic circles and collaborated with painters connected to the Shijō school. His workshop mark, known as the rokumoku seal, became a continuing identifier of the family tradition. Later generations retained the lineage's emphasis on technically accomplished glazes and decoration while adapting its output to changing artistic and commercial conditions. Rokubei II expanded the family's technical range through coloured semi-transparent glazes and experiments with Seto and Shigaraki traditions. After retiring from the family kiln, he established Oyama-yaki in present-day Niigata at the request of the local daimyō. Rokubei III guided the workshop through the political and economic disruption surrounding the Meiji Restoration. He helped preserve the kiln while exploring Western manufacturing, painting methods and consumer forms. His work included blue-and-white porcelain, celadon, red-glaze ceramics and Western-style objects such as coffee cups. He also participated in the production of a tea service associated with Ulysses S. Grant's 1879 visit to Japan and exhibited internationally. Rokubei IV and V further institutionalized the family's role in Kyoto's ceramic culture. Rokubei IV helped establish professional associations, ceramics organizations and research institutions, while Rokubei V combined traditional Japanese techniques with Chinese porcelain, Rinpa design, Art Nouveau and maiolica influences. Rokubei V also changed the family surname to Kiyomizu in 1928, applying the form retrospectively to earlier generations. Both artists were active in national exhibitions and the broader movement to promote Japanese arts domestically and overseas. The twentieth-century succession increasingly treated the title as a platform for individual artistic innovation. Rokubei VI developed new glazes and firing methods, exhibited widely abroad and received major Japanese cultural honors. Rokubei VII divided his career between ceramics and sculpture. After inheriting the family headship in 1981, he worked primarily as the sculptor Kyūbei for several years before returning to pottery in 1987. His practice included clay and metal sculpture, abstract works and functional ceramics. Rokubei VIII, Kiyomizu Masahiro, succeeded his father in 2000 and continues to head the family pottery. His work combines contemporary ceramic practice with the historical identity of the Kyoto kiln. In addition to exhibiting and receiving awards in Japan and internationally, he has taught contemporary ceramics. The Kiyomizu name therefore represents a continuing artistic lineage rather than a mass-market product label: its principal offerings are unique or limited ceramic artworks, vessels, sculptural forms and works made for exhibitions, collections and specialist appreciation.
History
The Kiyomizu Rokubei title belongs to the head of a Kyoto ceramics family whose documented workshop history begins in the eighteenth century. Kotō Kuritarō, later known as Rokubei I, moved from Settsu to Kyoto during the mid-eighteenth century and studied pottery under Ebiya Seibei. In 1771 he founded a studio in Gojōzaka, an area associated with Kiyomizu Temple and Kyoto's ceramic production. His decorated faience, especially three-colour overglaze work, established the technical and artistic foundation of the lineage. The rokumoku seal introduced during his lifetime continued, with variations, as a family mark. Rokubei II inherited the workshop as a young adult and developed its repertoire of coloured translucent glazes. He also worked in styles associated with Seto and Shigaraki and later attempted blue-and-white porcelain. After retiring from the main kiln, he founded Oyama-yaki in Niigata in 1843. His son, Rokubei III, assumed leadership in 1838 and became responsible for maintaining the family enterprise during the upheaval of the late Edo and early Meiji periods. Rokubei III combined respect for inherited methods with an interest in modernization. He studied Seto-yaki, traveled to Yokohama with Miyagawa Kōzan to investigate Western production and decoration, and produced blue-and-white, celadon and red-glaze ceramics alongside Western forms. His participation in exhibitions in Japan and overseas helped place the Kyoto kiln within the emerging international market for Japanese art. The workshop nevertheless remained primarily committed to traditional ceramic forms and styles. Rokubei IV succeeded his father in 1883 and became an important organizer of Kyoto's ceramics community. He helped establish the Gojōzaka Ceramics Union, Yutōen, the Society for Ceramics Appreciation, the Kami Kai and, in 1895, the Kyoto Ceramic Research Institute. His own work was more restrained and intellectual than that of Rokubei III, with strong engagement in Raku, Seto and Shigaraki traditions. He retired in 1913. Rokubei V had trained in painting before entering the family kiln and brought a broad visual vocabulary to ceramics. He studied under Kyoto painting masters and drew on Chinese porcelain, Rinpa, Art Nouveau and maiolica. His specialties included celadon and overglaze enamel. He was involved in ceramics research and professional organizations, including the Japan Crafts Association and Kyoto ceramics institutions. In 1928 he formally changed the family's surname to Kiyomizu, the name used in the modern lineage. He retired in 1945 but continued making ceramics for years. Rokubei VI represented a more experimental phase. He exhibited successfully at major Japanese competitions, participated in judging and administration, and gained recognition in Belgium, the Soviet Union, France and Italy. He developed new glazes in 1953 and 1971 and introduced a new firing method in 1955. His contribution to contemporary Japanese ceramics was recognized through membership in the Japan Art Academy and the Order of Cultural Merit. Rokubei VII, adopted into the family through marriage, studied metal casting and initially worked as a ceramic artist. From the 1960s he moved decisively toward sculpture, using the name Kiyomizu Kyūbei and working in clay and metal. He became head of the family kiln in 1981 but did not resume regular pottery production until 1987. In 2000 he transferred the Rokubei title to his eldest son while continuing his sculptural practice until his death in 2006. Kiyomizu Masahiro became Rokubei VIII in 2000. After studying architecture, sculpture and ceramics, he joined the family pottery in 1983. His career has included contemporary ceramic works, national and international exhibitions, awards and teaching. The current studio continues to connect experimental art practice with Kyoto's long ceramic tradition.
- 2000
Rokubei VIII succeeds to the title
[1]Kiyomizu Masahiro became the eighth Rokubei and continues to head the pottery.
- 1981
Rokubei VII inherits the kiln
[1]Rokubei VII became head of the family kiln while continuing his separate career as the sculptor Kyūbei.
- 1955
New firing technique introduced
[1]Rokubei VI created a new firing method that contributed to his reputation as an innovative contemporary potter.
- 1953
New glaze development
[1]Rokubei VI developed a new glaze as part of his program of technical experimentation.
- 1928
Family surname changed to Kiyomizu
[1]Rokubei V adopted Kiyomizu as the family surname and applied the name retrospectively to earlier generations.
- 1895
Kyoto Ceramic Research Institute co-founded
[1]Rokubei IV helped establish an institution devoted to ceramic research in Kyoto.
- 1879
Tea service made for Grant visit
[1]Rokubei III was among the ceramists commissioned to produce a tea service connected with former United States president Ulysses S. Grant's visit to Japan.
- 1843
Oyama-yaki branch established
[1]Retired Rokubei II opened a kiln in Niigata at the request of the daimyō of Nagaoka.
- 1838
Rokubei III assumes family leadership
[1]Rokubei III succeeded his father and guided the kiln through the transition from the Edo period into the Meiji era.
- 1771
First Kiyomizu workshop established
[1]Rokubei I opened a pottery studio in Kyoto's Gojōzaka district near Kiyomizu Temple.
Products and positioning
A heritage Kyoto ceramics lineage positioned between traditional Kyō ware, experimental studio pottery, contemporary sculpture and the preservation of Japanese craft knowledge.
Traditional ceramics · 1771
Kyō ware ceramics
The family's core output is associated with Kyō ware, Kyoto's diverse ceramic tradition. Works across the generations include decorated vessels, tea wares, tableware and display pieces. The lineage is notable for combining inherited kiln practices with changing approaches to glaze, painting, form and surface decoration.
Decorative ceramics · 1771
Overglaze enamel and iro-e ceramics
Rokubei I established a reputation for finely decorated faience and three-colour overglaze work. Later generations continued to use enamel decoration, adapting it to Chinese, Japanese and European visual influences while retaining the detailed surface treatment associated with Kyoto ceramics.
Tableware and tea ceramics
Tea and functional vessels
The family repertoire includes tea bowls, sake vessels, vases, cups, plates and related functional forms. Rokubei VII returned to these forms after his period of specialization in sculpture, demonstrating that the hereditary title encompasses both practical objects and autonomous art ceramics.
Contemporary art · 1966
Contemporary ceramic sculpture
Modern members of the lineage have treated ceramics as a sculptural medium as well as a craft. Rokubei VII produced abstract clay and metal sculpture under the name Kyūbei, while Rokubei VIII's practice continues the contemporary art direction of the family alongside its historical pottery identity.
Brand decisions
2000
Succession to Rokubei VIIIGeneration changeBackground
Rokubei VII had continued his sculptural career after inheriting the kiln and reached the point of transferring the hereditary title to the next generation.
Action taken
He handed the Rokubei title and leadership of the pottery to his eldest son, Kiyomizu Masahiro.
Aftermath
Masahiro became Rokubei VIII and continued the family studio's combination of contemporary ceramics, historical Kyoto techniques and educational activity.
1967
Rokubei VII specializes in sculptureStrategyBackground
After developing an interest in sculpture during the 1960s, Rokubei VII reassessed the balance between the family pottery and his individual artistic practice.
Action taken
He adopted the name Kiyomizu Kyūbei and devoted himself exclusively to sculpture in clay and metal.
Aftermath
The family kiln experienced a roughly two-decade gap in works made under the Rokubei name until he resumed pottery in 1987.
1868
Investigation of Western ceramic methodsStrategyBackground
Meiji-era modernization created pressure for Japanese ceramic producers to understand Western manufacturing and decorative techniques.
Action taken
Rokubei III traveled to Yokohama with Miyagawa Kōzan to study Western production and painting methods, while retaining a predominantly traditional output at the Kyoto kiln.
Aftermath
The visit broadened the family's technical awareness and supported its participation in domestic and international exhibitions without replacing its Kyoto-oriented identity.
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