Collection: Hitoshi Morimoto

Born in Bizen, one of Japan's most famous pottery towns and to a family whose business is in Bizen ceramic wares, Hitoshi Morimoto has clay in his blood.

After graduating from the sculpture department at Tokyo Zokei University in 1999, he studied Mino pottery in Gifu under Seiya Toyoba. He returned to Bizen in 2003 where he has been working ever since.

Morimoto completes each step of the process himself - he sources local clay and fires in “Noborigama”, a half buried climbing kiln which was built by his father half a century ago. His choice of material and technique connects him to his roots and keeps the traditions of his community alive. His refined and artistic aesthetic positions him as an exciting contemporary ceramicist to watch. 

The care and joy he brings to his ceramics, he also brings to his everyday life - waking early to pick a flower from the garden to put in a vase, watching shadows over the course of a day, enjoying tea as he observes the change of seasons or the sounds of nature.

He believes that the small moments of life which surround his practice, filter through him into his creations. In this way, the beauty and tenderness he brings to his days are equally a part of his art making as his actual ceramic work.