Ōhi Chōzaemon Toyasai X was the head of this important lineage of potters who specialize in tea ceramics, until he was recently succeeded by his son, Ōhi Toshio Chōzaemon XI. He is among the best known of contemporary Japanese ceramicists and received the Order of Cultural Merit from the Emperor of Japan.
To develop his own tea ceremony style, Lord Maeda Toshitsuna in 1666 invited the Urasenke tea master, Senso Sōshitsu, to his court in Kanazawa. The tea master brought the potter Chōzaemon Hodoan (1630–1712) with him from Kyoto, and he became the first Ōhi Chōzaemon. Ōhi (both a family and ware name) works are closely associated with Raku ware, as Chōzaemon studied with a Raku master in Kyoto. By the time of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Raku ware made by the Ōhi family was used exclusively by the Maeda clan for tea ceremonies.
Selected Exhibitions:
- 2016–2022 Asia Week, New York, US
- 2014 The Ōhi Inheritance Exhibition: As the Legend Continues, New York, US
- 2012 "Order of Cultural Merit" Commemorative Solo Exhibition, Kanazawa, Japan
- Selected Public Collections:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York
- US Fogg Museum, Harvard University | Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy | Nancy, France
- Museum of Fine Arts | Ghent, Belgium
- National Museum of Modern Art | Tokyo, Japan
- Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art | Kanazawa, Japan
- Taiwan College of Arts