Nakada Kazuo: A Master of Silver on Porcelain

Even among artists of Kutani ware, a craft known for its wide diversity of styles, artist Nakada Kazuo stands out for his exceptional individuality. His elegant works, born of highly refined techniques, continue to captivate collectors both in Japan and abroad.

Nakada is the sole artist to have mastered and embodied the technique known as yuri-ginsai, or underglaze silver leaf. Yuri-ginsai was recognized by the Japanese government in 2025 as a technique of the highest level, worthy of preservation and dissemination. Nakada was also designated a Holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property—an honor often referred to as “Living National Treasure,” bestowed only upon the most supreme artists Japan has to offer. Distinct from the vivid colors and gold decoration typically associated with Kutani ware, ginsai presents a new form of expression with a unique appeal of its very own. Here, we delve into the background behind the high level of artistry and technical excellence in Nakada’s yuri- ginsai.

Nakada Kazuo, now 76 years old, was born in 1949 in southern Ishikawa Prefecture’s Komatsu City as the eldest son of Nakada Takeo, himself a Kutani ware artist. He began working at Nakada Kinen Kiln, run by his father, at the age of eighteen upon graduating from high school. In his early years, he trained in keeping with his father’s style, but before long he encountered the man who would become his lifelong mentor: the late Tokuda Yasokichi III, a leading authority in Kutani ware who would later be designated a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property. That is when Nakada diverged from the path traced by his father, who excelled at commercially oriented work. From that point on, Nakada instead began walking the path of an artist, one who emphasizes artistic expression.

The relationship between Nakada and Tokuda began when Nakada spoke with Tokuda about his wish to submit work to the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, the country’s largest open-call exhibition of traditional crafts and a gateway to success for young artists. At the time, Nakada had already submitted works decorated using the then-popular komon painting style, which involves detailed patterns filling a surface. After several attempts he was fortunate enough to be selected, yet the following year he didn’t make the cut. As Nakada struggled to decide on his next move, he consulted with Tokuda, then a juror of the exhibition, who offered him this advice: “If you keep doing the same things as everyone else, you’ll only be compared to them. Rather, wouldn’t aiming to be evaluated for one-of-a-kind, highly individual works be the quickest way to establish yourself as an artist?”

Following this guidance, Nakada began searching for a technique that no one else had yet attempted. Eventually, an idea occurred to him: to use silver. Unlike gold, which already had many precedents, silver easily reacts chemically with sulfur compounds in the air and darkens, making it a long-avoided material practically unknown to ceramic artists.

After carefully examining the trial pieces Nakada had made with silver leaf, Tokuda encouraged him, saying, “This is interesting. I’ve never seen anything like it. If it works, it could become a lifelong asset.” Taking those words to heart, Nakada submitted work to the 1982 Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition and received an Honorable Mention. Riding this momentum, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to creating works using silver leaf over the next forty-five years.

Nakada’s works differ greatly from other Kutani ware, which conventionally includes vivid colors and meticulous decorations involving figurative motifs and patterns. The unique technique that makes Nakada’s work possible is yuri-ginsai, so named by the artist himself.

The first step of yuri-ginsai involves cutting silver leaf into the desired shapes and adhering them to the ceramic body. This is done using an animal glue called nikawa that is primarily made of gelatin. Once dried, the piece is fired in the kiln to firmly bond the silver leaf to the ceramic. However, it is extremely rare to achieve a beautiful finish after a single firing. The process requires repeatedly pressing out trapped air between the silver leaf and the ceramic and refiring multiple times. Several types of silver leaf with different thicknesses are used to create variations in tone. When multiple layers of silver leaf are applied to increase thickness, even more careful air removal is required.

Another defining feature of Nakada’s yuri-ginsai can be seen in the next part of the creation process. Over top the silver-adorned surface, he applies and fires glazes he developed himself, such as a softly elegant pale blue, or tansei; a pale pink akin to cherry blossoms called tan-o; and a refined pale purple, shion.

“In addition to my originally developed, colored glazes of tansei, tan-o and shion, I also use one transparent glaze called hakugin, or ‘white silver.’ These glazes are based on Kutani ware’s traditional, vivid glaze colors, which are known as the Kutani gosai, or ‘five colors.’ However, I’ve reduced the amount of pigment so that they fire to much paler tones. Patterns created in silver leaf show translucently through these softly colored glazes, as if submerged beneath the water’s surface.”

Among the four glazes, the pale blue of tansei holds special significance for Nakada, as that was the glaze that prompted him to fully commit to yuri-ginsai.

“Silver’s appeal lies in the cool, pure quality it has that gold does not. When I saw it through that pale blue, even I was surprised at how beautiful it looked. It struck me as a modern color perfectly suited to our era, and I, myself, became completely captivated. By fully coating the silver with glaze, discoloration is prevented and silver’s beauty can be preserved indefinitely, but that benefit was merely a resultant byproduct.” 

Nearly half a century has now passed since Nakada began working with yuri-ginsai. He has maintained his position as an active, front-line artist by continuing to challenge himself without pause.

Nakada explains that behind this bold and persistent approach lies the advice he received from Tokuda Yasokichi, the mentor who first opened the path to yuri-ginsai for him. As Nakada repeatedly won exhibition awards, his reputation gradually grew, and he began to attract attention as a promising young artist. Amidst this, Tokuda gave him a stern yet helpful warning: “If you ever let your attention waver, you’re sure to be overtaken by those who come after you, and your life as an artist will come to an end.”

Nakada explained, “Ever since Tokuda-sensei said that to me, I’ve always been conscious of wanting to be the foremost maker of yuri-ginsai and of protecting it as something uniquely my own. That is why, each time I hold an exhibition, I continue to present new works that incorporate changes never seen before, whether in color or pattern.”

One such design innovation involves motifs of layered circles formed from cut silver leaf, maru-mon, next to which lie abstract, notched patterns, also in silver leaf; scattered between the larger silver-leaf circles are smaller, gold-leaf circles that act as accents. Similarly, the straight vertical stripe designs that once covered entire surfaces evolved over time into patterns known as tatewaku-mon, said to resemble rising steam. Another of Nakada’s creations is a play on floral motif designs, hana-mon, which alongside circular and rising-steam motifs are standard Kutani ware designs. Yet Nakada’s flowers not only form bold, abstract compositions, but also take on the far more technically demanding challenge of intricate, figurative expressions.

While this assertive, exploratory approach inevitably comes with difficulties, Nakada says that the joy he feels when collectors and fans praise his work is irreplaceable.

Now that his decorative techniques, honed through years of dedicated practice, have been recognized by the nation with the highest honor, the designation of Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property, what comes next for Nakada?

Recipients of this title are entrusted with passing their skills to future generations, and Nakada believes that the most important way to do so is through one’s own work. As embodied by his yuri-ginsai, his belief is that “tradition is always something ‘new.’ Only by continuing to change can it stay necessary to the society of the time and hold value worthy of being passed on to future generations.” Nakada says that nothing would make him happier than for his own work to serve as a foundation from which a new generation of Kutani ware might develop.

“I will soon be 80 years old, but I want to continue creating one-of-a-kind pieces. When it comes to yuri-ginsai, I don’t want to lose to anyone. I want to keep giving my collectors pleasant surprises through modes of expression never seen before, and for that, I’ll push myself that one step further.”

The challenges undertaken by Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property Nakada Kazuo, always in pursuit of even greater heights, will continue into the future.