In Japan, ceramics has long been considered a medium associated with elevated aesthetic expression and high cultural capital. However, the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw transformations of its epistemological underpinnings. The collapse of the feudal system gave rise to the multivalenced concept of "art craft" (bijutsu kôgei) that included "art ceramics." For individual artists like Tomimoto Kenkichi (1886-1963), ceramics traversed a parallel path with other mediums of modern art that emphasized self-expression and hybridizations of multiple geo-historical sources. Ultimately, these ceramics became significant state-supported symbols of the nation. An analysis of the art, praxis, and theories of Tomimoto Kenkichi presents an ideal case study for illuminating the central mechanisms responsible for the emergence and development of modern Japanese art ceramics. With a wide angle yet critical perspective lacking in previous studies, this dissertation not only reveals Tomimoto's complex individual role in the history of modern ceramics, but also sheds light on the ontology of modern Japanese craft itself. By considering Tomimoto's entire oeuvre-- including calligraphy, ceramics, design goods, painting, and prints--we may track the development of his modernist embrace of the direct observation of nature, abstract form, and original expression. His praxis, synergistically modeled on William Morris and Ogata Kenzan, reveals a modernist stance towards Japanese literati culture in which ceramics became a medium negotiating between British Arts and Crafts design; modernist European sculpture; and Chinese, Korean, and Japanese historical ceramics. The dissertation's diachronic structure charts artistic concepts, ideologies, and creative works from the late Meiji to the mid-Shôwa eras, relying on formal analysis as well as organizational analysis of pedagogical systems, art organizations, and exhibition structures. Chapter One considers Tomimoto's lineal inheritances, university education, and self-study. Chapter Two explores Tomimoto's discourse of self-expression and the equivalency of artistic mediums. Chapter Three deconstructs the image of the ceramic vessel and Tomimoto's discourse of ceramic form according to respective engagements with Joseon porcelain and modernist sculpture. Chapter Four analyzes the sinophilic and modernist aspects of his overglaze enamel porcelain. Finally, Chapter Five surveys the role of exhibitions and preservation efforts in positioning ceramics as art and national tradition.

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The use and firing of clay to make art instead of vessels was a revolutionary concept in Japan when it first was introduced by Hayashi Yasuo in 1948 with Cloud, and expanded upon by Yagi Kazuo in 1954 with Mr. Samsa’s Walk. Although both avant-garde artists were major forces in the advancement of abstract, nonfunctional ceramics, Yagi is usually given sole credit and occupies a prominent place in the literature, while Hayashi’s name can scarcely be found, despite his numerous international awards, large body of work and career spanning seven decades. This thesis seeks to identify the factors that influenced the direction of their careers and the unbalanced reception of their work. It compares their backgrounds, personality traits, avant-garde affiliations, and positions on art and ceramics, in relation to the norms and prerequisites for success in Kyoto’s deeply stratified, convention-bound ceramic community. The pervasive practice of rating and society’s emphasis on affiliation and rank were significant forces in this situation, as were issues that divided Japan’s art world -- the separation and unequal ranking of fine art and traditional craft, or the value of individual expression versus technique and tradition. Ultimately, this study reveals an insular world during a decade (1946–56) of crisis and transition that is rarely studied in the West from the perspective of ceramic art.