Miyashita Zenji (1939–2012) was born into a family of Kyoto potters as the son of Miyashita Zenjū. He studied at the Kyoto Municipal University of Art under Kiyomizu Kyūbei and Kusube Yaichi, receiving a rigorous grounding in both traditional technique and modern ceramic thought.
He began his career working with celadon, one of the most technically demanding ceramic traditions, where form and firing control are paramount. From 1964 onward he exhibited regularly at the Nitten exhibitions, eventually receiving eighteen awards, an exceptional record that marked his standing within postwar Japanese ceramics.
Miyashita later developed a distinctive approach in which mineral pigments were mixed directly into clay, allowing color to emerge through layered bodies rather than surface glaze. His mature works are often described as a modern embodiment of classical Kyoto and Heian-period aesthetics, evoking the subtle layering of court robes or decorated poetry papers through restrained, luminous surfaces.
His work is held in major international collections including the Freer–Sackler, British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the National Museums of Modern Art in Kyoto and Tokyo.
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