Kazue Wakabayashi

Ceramicist

Breaking moulds in Japanese ceramics

Kazue makes ceramic pieces that blur the line between utility and decoration
She was the first woman to receive the Kikuchi Biennale Grand Prix
She developed gin-shitsu-sai, a technique combining silver and lacquer

Kazue Wakabayashi found the full potential of her creative voice when she began working with clay, which transformed her passion for crafts into a 3D form. "I was always meant to be in the art world. For as long as I can remember, I have been holding a paintbrush or pencil," she says. Kazue's formative experience studying ceramics in Italy widened her perspective and helped her merge cultural influences into a more liberated approach to making. She now explores the space between art and craft, seeking to transcend the binary concept of function versus non-function. She embraces a more fluid expression that resists categorisation. Kazue is the first woman ceramicist to receive the Kikuchi Biennale Grand Prix, as well as the East Japan Traditional Craft Competition award.

Interview

How does your gin-shitsu-sai technique work?: Gin-shitsu-sai is a technique that adds urushi lacquer over a silver coating on ceramics. Silver oxidises quickly and changes colour, much like fingerprints left on surfaces. The urushi coating protects silver surfaces from patina while adding more nuances. It takes around seven firings to complete each piece with this technique.
Is it difficult being a woman in this field?: Clay work, traditionally heavy, has historically positioned ceramics as a male-dominated craft. But today, tools and systems have made it more accessible. The environment is evolving, and more women are now also serving as judges in art competitions.
How do you explore the boundaries between art and craft?: Functionality often defines whether an object is considered craft or art – its presence suggests craft, and its absence suggests art. I like to break free from these conceptual constraints and create pieces people want to keep close. My lidded boxes, which can weigh over 5 kg, are one way I explore this philosophy.
How were you influenced by your time living in Italy?: I was drawn to Majolica pottery and its vivid colour palette. But what truly changed me was encountering so many cultures and ways of thinking. Seeing coexistence in action was deeply inspiring. Even today, in a world full of conflict, I want my work to hold space for contradictions and opposites.

Kazue Wakabayashi is a master artisan: she began her career in 2001 and she started teaching in 2001