What does it mean to preserve tradition? To faithfully reproduce techniques passed down through generations? To carry forward the aesthetic values established by those who came before us, without altering them? These are certainly ways of sustaining a tradition. But as times change, and with them the ways people live and think, can tradition itself truly remain unchanged?
This seemingly paradoxical statement lies at the heart of “旦 ASHITA,” an exhibition presented by Kinzangama Kiln, a historic producer of Kutani ware based in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2026, Kinzangama Kiln presented “ASHITA” at AXIS Gallery in Roppongi, Tokyo. Featuring works by fourth-generation head Yukio Yoshita alongside pieces produced by Kinzangama Kiln, the exhibition traces the kiln’s legacy of gold decoration while exploring its present and future through technology and collaborations with artists from other disciplines.
What emerges is an approach to tradition that treats it not as something finished and preserved intact, but as something continually nurtured and allowed to evolve with the times.
The history of Kinzangama Kiln dates back to 1906, when its founder, Shosaku Yoshita, began producing overglaze decoration on Kutani ware in Takando, Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture.
Since its founding, gold decoration has been central to the kiln’s identity. Shosaku was particularly skilled in Saishoku Kinrande, a decorative style combining multicolored overglaze painting with gold ornamentation that became prominent in Kutani ware during the Meiji period.
The third-generation master, Minori Yoshita, took this expertise to new heights.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Minori perfected Yuri-kinsai, a technique in which patterns are created using gold leaf or gold powder, covered with glaze, and then fired. His mastery earned him recognition as a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property designation in Japan, commonly known as a Living National Treasure.
Yet his achievements were not built on preserving established methods without question. In the workshop, he introduced mechanical mixers to reduce the physical burden on artisans and experimented with materials that had not previously been used. Even while refining a traditional technique, he continued to explore new possibilities.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Yukio Yoshita, the fourth-generation master, has inherited that same spirit. While studying and refining traditional techniques, he has pursued new forms of gold decoration informed by contemporary sensibilities, remaining open to technologies and artistic practices beyond the established boundaries of craft.
What is particularly revealing is that father and son have not necessarily pursued the same artistic expression.
Yukio acknowledges that, despite sharing the same lineage, he and his father are entirely different individuals. Yet both have a sense of carrying tradition forward.
What is passed down, then, is not merely a perfected style, but also the determination to keep challenging the possibilities of expression.
That philosophy can also be seen in KINZAN, the kiln’s product series bringing four generations of gold-decoration techniques into contemporary living.
Among its most distinctive creations is Kachoumutan, a collection that reinterprets traditional designs preserved in the kiln’s archives through a contemporary sense of color.
Cups, bowls, and lidded vessels decorated with gold patterns can be freely combined and stacked. In doing so, functional tableware becomes a series of objects that shape the surrounding space.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
What matters here is more than simply giving traditional techniques a contemporary appearance. The way these objects are used and displayed is left to the person who owns them.
Rather than following a prescribed function, the user is invited to combine the pieces freely and create a composition of their own. The skill of the maker and the creativity of the user meet within the same work.
Instead of confining craft to the realm of objects reserved for admiration, Kinzangama connects it with contemporary life and individual sensibilities. This, too, is a way of carrying tradition forward.
One of the exhibition’s most compelling explorations of Kinzangama’s future is its collaboration with Sony Computer Science Laboratories (Sony CSL).
Yukio has been creating works using Tomonami, a system developed through the “Creativity Acceleration” research conducted by Sony CSL researcher Alexis André.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Tomonami is not simply a system for automatically generating decorative patterns.
It allows artists to explore unfamiliar ideas and possibilities by translating rules for producing personally meaningful images into parameters within a specially developed software interface.
Underlying the project is the idea that creativity involves two distinct abilities: generating new ideas and evaluating them. Technology is used to expand the possibilities of both.
For Yukio, the attraction was not replacing the physical process of making with machinery, but introducing new stimuli into the creative process itself.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
In traditional craft, mastering techniques and developing a deep understanding of materials often requires decades of practice. That accumulated knowledge becomes a powerful foundation for artistic expression.
At the same time, experience can establish familiar patterns of thought. The more deeply a craftsperson understands a particular method, the more difficult it may become to imagine working beyond it.
Yukio sees technology as one way to break through those patterns—not to make the artisan’s hand unnecessary, but to help that highly skilled hand reach forms of expression it has never encountered before.
Here, traditional craftsmanship and technology are not opposing forces. It is precisely because of the knowledge accumulated over generations that unfamiliar ideas can be transformed into meaningful works.
Another defining element of “ASHITA” is a collaboration with Madoki Yamasaki, a musician, poet, and tagging artist.
Their relationship began in October 2025, when Yamasaki’s poetry-jazz band F.I.B JOURNAL performed a live session at MUTAN, Kinzangama’s gallery in Ishikawa.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
The quiet atmosphere of a craft gallery and music driven by improvisation and a rebellious spirit might initially seem worlds apart.
Yet that encounter developed into an artist residency spanning approximately six months.
Yamasaki began experimenting with carving words directly into the ceramic surface.
He initially considered using a pen filled with ceramic glaze, but found that it could not adequately capture the character of his handwriting. Through experimentation, he arrived at a method of engraving the surface with a sharp, awl-like tool.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Working on ceramic surfaces coated with a water-repellent agent, Yamasaki carved his words one character at a time.
There were no preliminary sketches.
The process was physically demanding. He repeatedly engraved poems and phrases onto the ceramic surface, using a method reminiscent of ancient petroglyphs—images and symbols carved into rock.
Once Yamasaki had completed his part, Yukio took over, applying color and then layers of gold leaf.
Words emerge, disappear beneath the surface, and become visible again.
The physical expression of a poet and the refined techniques of an artisan who has devoted his life to gold decoration converge on a single ceramic vessel.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
What makes this collaboration especially interesting is that the final outcome was not fully determined from the beginning.
Yukio explains that he deliberately avoided watching too much of Yamasaki’s working process. Seeing how physically demanding it was might have made him hesitate to apply his own bold interventions over the finished engravings.
Yamasaki, meanwhile, felt confident that no matter how freely he worked, Yukio would ultimately embrace what he created.
On one side is a craft tradition built on refining techniques toward an envisioned result. On the other is the improvisational spirit of music and poetry, where expression can emerge in the moment.
As these different approaches meet, they move beyond one another’s expectations.
The result is something more profound than a collaboration between artists working in different disciplines.
Through his conversations with Yamasaki, Yukio discovered an unexpected connection between their practices.
That connection was time.
For Yamasaki, music is an art of time. It emerges in the moment of performance, shaped by the people sharing that moment and the circumstances in which it unfolds.
Yukio believes that craft, too, can be understood as an art of time.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
The value of a ceramic vessel is not determined solely at the moment it is completed. Through use, its surface and character may change, and the marks of passing years can become a source of new beauty.
Poetry and language behave in much the same way. The meaning of a poem can change when it is read by another person or encountered in a different place.
The collaborative works created for “ASHITA” may undergo their own transformations. As the gold leaf applied over Yamasaki’s engraved words changes with time, the work may reveal another expression—and perhaps another meaning.
A work of art does not simply reach completion at the moment of its creation. It continues to exist, change, and acquire significance through time.
This understanding resonates with the kiln’s 120th anniversary.
Kinzangama’s 120-year history is not a closed chapter. It remains alive within the works being created today and will continue into the years ahead.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Rather than discussing traditional craft solely within the boundaries of craft itself, Kinzangama places it in dialogue with design, technology, music, and poetry.
By bringing these different forms of expression together, the kiln reexamines what craft can become.
It is an approach that refuses to treat tradition as a finished object inherited from the past. Instead, tradition becomes an ongoing practice, continually renewed for the future.
Looking back on Kinzangama’s 120 years, “ASHITA” is concerned with more than the achievements of the past.
It is about embracing change without abandoning what has been inherited.
Perhaps tradition is not something that survives by remaining unchanged, but something that stays alive precisely because it continues to evolve.
To keep changing, we preserve. To remain unchanged, we change.
This seemingly paradoxical statement lies at the heart of “旦 ASHITA,” an exhibition presented by Kinzangama Kiln, a historic producer of Kutani ware based in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINECelebrating its 120th anniversary in 2026, Kinzangama Kiln presented “ASHITA” at AXIS Gallery in Roppongi, Tokyo. Featuring works by fourth-generation head Yukio Yoshita alongside pieces produced by Kinzangama Kiln, the exhibition traces the kiln’s legacy of gold decoration while exploring its present and future through technology and collaborations with artists from other disciplines.
What emerges is an approach to tradition that treats it not as something finished and preserved intact, but as something continually nurtured and allowed to evolve with the times.
120 Years of Inheriting the Will to Change
The history of Kinzangama Kiln dates back to 1906, when its founder, Shosaku Yoshita, began producing overglaze decoration on Kutani ware in Takando, Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture.
Since its founding, gold decoration has been central to the kiln’s identity. Shosaku was particularly skilled in Saishoku Kinrande, a decorative style combining multicolored overglaze painting with gold ornamentation that became prominent in Kutani ware during the Meiji period.
The third-generation master, Minori Yoshita, took this expertise to new heights.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEMinori perfected Yuri-kinsai, a technique in which patterns are created using gold leaf or gold powder, covered with glaze, and then fired. His mastery earned him recognition as a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property designation in Japan, commonly known as a Living National Treasure.
Yet his achievements were not built on preserving established methods without question. In the workshop, he introduced mechanical mixers to reduce the physical burden on artisans and experimented with materials that had not previously been used. Even while refining a traditional technique, he continued to explore new possibilities.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEYukio Yoshita, the fourth-generation master, has inherited that same spirit. While studying and refining traditional techniques, he has pursued new forms of gold decoration informed by contemporary sensibilities, remaining open to technologies and artistic practices beyond the established boundaries of craft.
What is particularly revealing is that father and son have not necessarily pursued the same artistic expression.
Yukio acknowledges that, despite sharing the same lineage, he and his father are entirely different individuals. Yet both have a sense of carrying tradition forward.
What is passed down, then, is not merely a perfected style, but also the determination to keep challenging the possibilities of expression.
Bringing the Tradition of Gold Decoration into Contemporary Life
That philosophy can also be seen in KINZAN, the kiln’s product series bringing four generations of gold-decoration techniques into contemporary living.
Among its most distinctive creations is Kachoumutan, a collection that reinterprets traditional designs preserved in the kiln’s archives through a contemporary sense of color.
Cups, bowls, and lidded vessels decorated with gold patterns can be freely combined and stacked. In doing so, functional tableware becomes a series of objects that shape the surrounding space.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEWhat matters here is more than simply giving traditional techniques a contemporary appearance. The way these objects are used and displayed is left to the person who owns them.
Rather than following a prescribed function, the user is invited to combine the pieces freely and create a composition of their own. The skill of the maker and the creativity of the user meet within the same work.
Instead of confining craft to the realm of objects reserved for admiration, Kinzangama connects it with contemporary life and individual sensibilities. This, too, is a way of carrying tradition forward.
How Far Can Technology Expand an Artisan’s Creativity?
One of the exhibition’s most compelling explorations of Kinzangama’s future is its collaboration with Sony Computer Science Laboratories (Sony CSL).
Yukio has been creating works using Tomonami, a system developed through the “Creativity Acceleration” research conducted by Sony CSL researcher Alexis André.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINETomonami is not simply a system for automatically generating decorative patterns.
It allows artists to explore unfamiliar ideas and possibilities by translating rules for producing personally meaningful images into parameters within a specially developed software interface.
Underlying the project is the idea that creativity involves two distinct abilities: generating new ideas and evaluating them. Technology is used to expand the possibilities of both.
For Yukio, the attraction was not replacing the physical process of making with machinery, but introducing new stimuli into the creative process itself.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEIn traditional craft, mastering techniques and developing a deep understanding of materials often requires decades of practice. That accumulated knowledge becomes a powerful foundation for artistic expression.
At the same time, experience can establish familiar patterns of thought. The more deeply a craftsperson understands a particular method, the more difficult it may become to imagine working beyond it.
Yukio sees technology as one way to break through those patterns—not to make the artisan’s hand unnecessary, but to help that highly skilled hand reach forms of expression it has never encountered before.
Here, traditional craftsmanship and technology are not opposing forces. It is precisely because of the knowledge accumulated over generations that unfamiliar ideas can be transformed into meaningful works.
When Craft Meets Punk: A Poet Carves Words into Ceramics
Another defining element of “ASHITA” is a collaboration with Madoki Yamasaki, a musician, poet, and tagging artist.
Their relationship began in October 2025, when Yamasaki’s poetry-jazz band F.I.B JOURNAL performed a live session at MUTAN, Kinzangama’s gallery in Ishikawa.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEThe quiet atmosphere of a craft gallery and music driven by improvisation and a rebellious spirit might initially seem worlds apart.
Yet that encounter developed into an artist residency spanning approximately six months.
Yamasaki began experimenting with carving words directly into the ceramic surface.
He initially considered using a pen filled with ceramic glaze, but found that it could not adequately capture the character of his handwriting. Through experimentation, he arrived at a method of engraving the surface with a sharp, awl-like tool.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEWorking on ceramic surfaces coated with a water-repellent agent, Yamasaki carved his words one character at a time.
There were no preliminary sketches.
The process was physically demanding. He repeatedly engraved poems and phrases onto the ceramic surface, using a method reminiscent of ancient petroglyphs—images and symbols carved into rock.
Once Yamasaki had completed his part, Yukio took over, applying color and then layers of gold leaf.
Words emerge, disappear beneath the surface, and become visible again.
The physical expression of a poet and the refined techniques of an artisan who has devoted his life to gold decoration converge on a single ceramic vessel.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEWhat makes this collaboration especially interesting is that the final outcome was not fully determined from the beginning.
Yukio explains that he deliberately avoided watching too much of Yamasaki’s working process. Seeing how physically demanding it was might have made him hesitate to apply his own bold interventions over the finished engravings.
Yamasaki, meanwhile, felt confident that no matter how freely he worked, Yukio would ultimately embrace what he created.
On one side is a craft tradition built on refining techniques toward an envisioned result. On the other is the improvisational spirit of music and poetry, where expression can emerge in the moment.
As these different approaches meet, they move beyond one another’s expectations.
The result is something more profound than a collaboration between artists working in different disciplines.
Craft and Music as Arts of Time
Through his conversations with Yamasaki, Yukio discovered an unexpected connection between their practices.
That connection was time.
For Yamasaki, music is an art of time. It emerges in the moment of performance, shaped by the people sharing that moment and the circumstances in which it unfolds.
Yukio believes that craft, too, can be understood as an art of time.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINEThe value of a ceramic vessel is not determined solely at the moment it is completed. Through use, its surface and character may change, and the marks of passing years can become a source of new beauty.
Poetry and language behave in much the same way. The meaning of a poem can change when it is read by another person or encountered in a different place.
The collaborative works created for “ASHITA” may undergo their own transformations. As the gold leaf applied over Yamasaki’s engraved words changes with time, the work may reveal another expression—and perhaps another meaning.
A work of art does not simply reach completion at the moment of its creation. It continues to exist, change, and acquire significance through time.
This understanding resonates with the kiln’s 120th anniversary.
Kinzangama’s 120-year history is not a closed chapter. It remains alive within the works being created today and will continue into the years ahead.
“ASHITA”: Nurturing Tradition for the Next Century
The exhibition statement was developed in response to a poem Yamasaki wrote during his residency at Kinzangama, titled Change myself not to change.
To keep changing, we preserve. To remain unchanged, we change.
These seemingly contradictory words express an approach to making that Kinzangama has practiced throughout its 120-year history.
Yukio offers an especially revealing perspective on what tradition means to him:
Yukio offers an especially revealing perspective on what tradition means to him:
“For me, tradition is less about preserving or passing something down, and more about nurturing it.”
To nurture something is also to accept that it will change.
It means reconsidering methods in response to different environments and eras, sometimes welcoming unfamiliar values, while carrying what is essential into the future.
The choice of AXIS Gallery as the exhibition venue is equally symbolic. Since its establishment in 1981, AXIS has served as a platform for exploring the possibilities of design and technology.
It means reconsidering methods in response to different environments and eras, sometimes welcoming unfamiliar values, while carrying what is essential into the future.
The choice of AXIS Gallery as the exhibition venue is equally symbolic. Since its establishment in 1981, AXIS has served as a platform for exploring the possibilities of design and technology.
photo by ©FASHION HEADLINERather than discussing traditional craft solely within the boundaries of craft itself, Kinzangama places it in dialogue with design, technology, music, and poetry.
By bringing these different forms of expression together, the kiln reexamines what craft can become.
It is an approach that refuses to treat tradition as a finished object inherited from the past. Instead, tradition becomes an ongoing practice, continually renewed for the future.
Looking back on Kinzangama’s 120 years, “ASHITA” is concerned with more than the achievements of the past.
It is about embracing change without abandoning what has been inherited.
Perhaps tradition is not something that survives by remaining unchanged, but something that stays alive precisely because it continues to evolve.
INFORMATION
Kinzangama Kiln 120th Anniversary Exhibition “旦 ASHITA” — YOSHITA Yukio Exhibition —
Dates: October 9–13, 2026
Hours: 11:00 AM–6:00 PM JST (until 5:00 PM JST on the final day)
Venue: AXIS Gallery
Address: AXIS Building 4F, 5-17-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
This exhibition concluded on October 13, 2026.
Kinzangama Kiln 120th Anniversary Exhibition “旦 ASHITA” — YOSHITA Yukio Exhibition —
Dates: October 9–13, 2026
Hours: 11:00 AM–6:00 PM JST (until 5:00 PM JST on the final day)
Venue: AXIS Gallery
Address: AXIS Building 4F, 5-17-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
This exhibition concluded on October 13, 2026.
