Ganpu Nakamura
1955 Born in Ishikawa, Japan
1980 Began training potter’s wheel
1981 Completed the Graduate School of Science, Kanazawa University, Department of Biology
1986 Started research on light and color.
1995 Nominated as a regular member of the Japan Crafts Association
2004 Invited to exhibit at the Jingdezhen International Ceramics Exposition (until 2016)
2010 Held a solo exhibition in Jingdezhen (at the Ceramics Academy), the first time for a Japanese artist to hold such an exhibition.
2011 Completed the glassy deep red glaze "Kiseki", the first in the world
2014 Invention of "Glaze", a glaze that eternalizes the brilliance of water, the first in the world
Contemporary Artist and Scientist Ganpu Nakamura
There are five basic colors of glaze: red, yellow, green, dark blue, and purple.
Of these, only red has no transparency or luster, and coloration is limited to reddish brown or vermilion. Many have attempted to vitrify red throughout history, but without success.
The artist, a former scientist, thought "Why is it that only red has no luster? Is it really impossible to create it?" As a scientist, his blood was boiling.
In 2011, after 26 years of countless experiments, he succeeded for the first time in the world in firing "Kiseki (means rare red)”, a deep red glaze with luster and thickness.This color, which is synonymous with the artist, is used in Akafuji's works.
Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, is considered the birthplace of Kutani ware. The history of Kutani ware dates back to the early Edo period, when pottery stone, the raw material for porcelain, was produced in Kutani Village, Enuma County, Kaga Province.
Toshiharu Maeda, who ruled the Daishoji Domain in the southwestern part of Kaga Province, was also a tea master, and he decided to use this pottery stone to produce porcelain as a product of his domain.
He sent his retainer Saijiro Goto to Arita in Hizen Province, an advanced area of porcelain production, to learn pottery making techniques.
After completing his training, Saijiro Goto opened a kiln in Kutani Village around 1655 and began to produce porcelain in overglaze enamels.
1992 Awarded for the first time at the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition. Since then, he has been selected consecutively.