Biography

1890

Born in Yasuki,Shimane as a second son between Daisaburou Kawai and Yuki whose family job was constructor

1910

Entered to the Department of Ceramics at Tokyo Mechanic High school (current Tokyo Institute of Technology )
Studies under Hazan Itaya

1914

Entered to Kyoto Municipal Laboratory of Ceramics

1920

Settled down in Kyoto
Opened a kiln (Shoukeiyou) and got independent

1921

Hold the first personal exhibition "Creation of Ceramics Exhibition 1st "at Takashimaya,Tokyo

1926

Presented "The proposal of establishment of Japan folk crafts museum" with Shuetsu Yanagi and Shoji Hamada
Participated "Folk crafts Movement"

1937

"Flower and plants patterned iron and cinnabar pot" Received Grand Prix at Paris World Expo

1955

Selected to The order of cultural merit, living national treasure and a member of Arts institution but he declined the all of offers

1957

"White land plants and flowers design pot" got the Grand Prix at Milan Triennale International Pottery Exhibition

1966

Died (Aged 76)

Kanjiro Kawai was born in Yasuki,Shimane as a second son between Daisaburou Kawai ,a carpenter,and Yuki. When he was 4 years old, his mother, Yuki was dead and his step mother Kata brought up him. He decided to enter the ceramic world because of his uncle's advice. By the recommendation of his Secondary school principal, he entered to the Department of Ceramics at Tokyo Mechanic High school (current Tokyo Institute of Technology ). He met two grades lower colleague, Shoji Hamada who became a best friend later.

After the graduation, he became a manger of Rokubē Shimizu V via an experience at Kyoto Municipal Laboratory of ceramics. At the time, he had energetically been working such as researching and making copies of old-ceramics with Hamada and visiting some potteries in Okinawa and Kyushu, Korea and Manshu to broaden their knowledge as well. In 1929, he inherited one of the Rokubē's kilns, and he built his house and craft there. At the kiln called Shoukeiyou, Kanjirou continued his works for all his life.

In 1921,at his first personal exhibition taken a place in Takashimaya Tokyo and Osaka,his outstanding skills based in his researches and his splendid art works created by an original understanding of Chinese and Korean old-ceramics were welcomed with greatest reputations. However, when Kanjirou visited Korean ethnic arts exhibitions hosted by Shuetsu Yanagi, Kanjirou was shocked by free and unintentional ceramics of unknown potteries in Ri-Chou era. He was ashamed about his ceramic style such as archiving his original world by using skills and he aspired to make beautiful practical ceramics. In 1926,he presented "The proposal of establishment of Japan folk crafts museum" with Yanagi and Hamada. He deeply participated in "Folk crafts movement "with Kenkichi Tominoto, Shinshu Kuroda, Bernard Reach. During the time he had stopped releasing his works until he could create what he is satisfied but in 1926, he restarted a personal exhibition at Takashimaya,Tokyo for the first time in five years. All of collections had practical terms used simple skills such as normal ceramics. These series, separated from his past gorgeous style, had both of positive and negative reactions but his pottery kept on the way of folk crafts.

After the war, he had got admired by ethnic designs, he became to create subjective, unique and free-style works that necessarily did not matter if it was practical or folk. The way of expressing was really affluent such as pottery, wood-sculpture, designing, stories, essays and poems. In his later age, he did not have interests in the offer of the Order of Cultural Merit or Living national treasure, he had constantly been doing pottery until late in life as a potter without any position or honor. On the other hand, his works had continued to present in international exhibitions due to the arrangement of Kenichi Kawakatsu, the manager of advertising at Takashimaya, he received the Grand Prix at Milan Triennale International Pottery Exhibition at his late age. So as he was the artist treated with a huge respect from in and out of Japan.