Yamato Kobayashi

An organised person, who traded the life of a company worker for one making ceramics, Yamato Kobayashi shares an atelier with Mineko Nishimura which they named “Keizan” or mountain gift.  This sense of gratitude to his material, enthuses what he makes.  While Kasama is a town full of those who travelled to establish themselves in ceramics, it is the place to which Kobayashi returned.  The son of a Kasama potter, he works in the local clay, which he describes as smooth and quick to adapt to shapes.  The easy contours of Kobayashi’s work contrast with reminders of the soil that appear on its surface.   Less a matter of control, he cooperates with his material to achieve the finish he hoped might occur.   Kobayashi came back to his home soil after a brief salaried career, and entered training with the quintessential contemporary studio potter of the town: Akio Nukaga.  While hard to define, Kobayashi’s explorations in his material and his kiln, have the character of Kasama ingrained in them. “There are lots of people here with different styles, and who came from different pottery regions originally.  There’s an atmosphere that let’s you do what you want”.