At eighty-eight, Sajiro continues to create captivating tea ceramics that enchant all who encounter them. His artistic base in Yamase, Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture—an area marked by the remains of kilns that once produced ancient Karatsu ware from the Azuchi–Momoyama through the Edo periods—provides both historical depth and natural inspiration. His workshop sits on a mountainside where the air is clear, and the presence of nature is vividly felt. This crisp atmosphere echoes the quiet intensity of his creative process and mirrors the arc of his life.
Sajiro’s works reveal an aesthetic entirely his own—born not of fixed forms but of a dialogue with the clay. Shapes arise organically from his hands, culminating in a solemn encounter with fire that seems to breathe life into each piece. The vitality of his movement and the rhythm of his breath are palpable in the finished works, holding the viewer’s gaze with their immediacy and presence.
A defining hallmark of his practice is his unwavering use of a traditional wood-fired kiln, even as most contemporary potters turn to gas or electric kilns. Through immense dedication, Tanaka has forged his distinctive style, transcending age and experience. What endures in his ceramics is a testament to living fully in the present—a quiet yet powerful expression of a life devoted to making.
Biography and Career Highlights
| 1937 | Born in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan |
| 1951 | Tokyo Daiichi Private High School |
| 1960 | Began Zen meditation with Zen master Soko Takabatake at Butsunichian, the pagoda of Engakuji Temple in Kamakura |
| 1965 | Began excavation of Jomon and Yayoi pottery, hand-building, and field firing |
| 1971 | Began Zen meditation practice at Echizen Eiheiji Temple Excavated old Karatsu kiln sites and began pottery making |
| 1972 | Began studying tea ceremony under Masumi Hanada, Omotesenke Chanoyu master in Beppu, Fukuoka City, and Nanga (Chinese-style painting) under Chikukei Takahara |
| 1975 | At Eiheiji Temple, was ordained as a Zen priest by the abbot Yamada Reirin, and received the title of Zen priest Hogetsu Received the koan of “Tozen-ichijyo” from the Zen master Ryodo Kitano, deputy abbot of this temple Studied Chinese poetry for more than 20 years under Mr. Saito Soshu, a Chinese scholar in Karatsu City Built a climbing kiln in the precincts of Hada, Joraku Zenji, in Karatsu City for the monk Bunyu Murakami |
| 1979 | Studied Zen and philosophy of life with Tokuro Kato at Obata, Nagoya City. Thereafter, visited twice to learn from him, and has succeeded since |
| 1980 | First solo exhibition at Shibuya Kuroda Toen |
| 1987 | Moved his climbing kiln to Yamase, the site of his old kiln |
| 1997 | Excavation and research of old Korai tea bowl kiln sites scattered throughout Korea, and pottery making in Keisho nando sansei |
| 2003 | Built the Kizan Kiln, a half-terraced six-column climbing kiln in the mountains of Ulsan, Korea, where he had lived for six years |
| 2007 | Studied under art critic and tea master Seizo Hayashiya, who cultivated the tea fields of the secular world at his Shinjuku Kakiden, and adopted the unique taste of Zen tea ceremony, attending forty tea ceremonies fifty-eight times in the last ten years |
| 2009 | Solo exhibition at Lotte Department Store, Seoul, Korea |
| 2014 | Solo exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland Exhibition of ceramics by Sajiro Tanaka, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the port of Japan to Switzerland Received a letter of recommendation from former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| 2016 | Two-person exhibition “Living National Treasure Ishiguro Munemaro & Tanaka Sajirō” at Joan B. Mirviss Ltd. in New York |
| 2019 | Held “Tanaka Sajirō: Fifty Selected Works” in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Shibuya Kuroda Tōen |
| 2023 | Spoke on the NHK radio program Religion Hour for a thirty-minute segment titled “Pottery and Zen in Unison” |
| 2024 | Exhibition “Tanaka Sajirō: From Jōmon to the Future” at the Nippon Club in New York |
Collections
- National Crafts Museum
- Former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
- Former Japan Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
- Geneva Japanese School, Switzerland
Exhibitions
- Takashimaya (Okayama)
- Seibu (Ikebukuro)
- Mitsukoshi (Shinjuku)
- Mitsukoshi (Fukuoka)
- Mitsukoshi (Chiba)
- Sogo (Yokohama)
- Mitsukoshi (Nihonbashi)
- Hankyu (Kobe)
- Kuroda Toen (Shibuya) 33
- Seoul, Korea
- Geneva, Switzerland
- New York, USA