Profile: Rooted in Tradition, Evolving Through Non-Color

Makoto Hatori (b. 1947, Japan) began his ceramic journey in 1970 under a master of traditional Japanese pottery. He completed a bachelor’s degree in sculpture at Nihon University College of Art in 1972, followed by research in clay and glazes at the Gifu Prefectural Institute of Ceramics from 1972 to 1974. In 1974, he returned to his master to continue his study, a quiet step that further grounded the foundations of his practice.

In 1975, he established a ceramics studio in Tamatsukuri, Ibaraki Prefecture, building and firing a traditional kiln of his own design. He operated this kiln until 2006, producing and exhibiting traditional ceramics nationally. Since 2007, he has been based in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Hatori has been internationally recognized since 1978, with awards and selections in over twenty countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas—including Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland, New Zealand, Egypt, South Africa, Taiwan, Korea, and the United States.

In 1992, he served as a ceramics tutor in the Department of Art and Design at Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University). From 1994 to 1996, he was a member of Contemporary Applied Arts, London. He has participated in numerous international symposia and conferences, among them the International Ceramic Symposium, Panevezys, Lithuania (1996, 1998); Earth and Fire, Craft Potters Association of Great Britain (1997); the International Woodfiring Symposium, International Ceramics Studio, Hungary (2006); and the 2nd ICMEA Conference, Fuping Pottery Art Village, Shaanxi, China (2007).

In addition to his artistic practice, Hatori has contributed reviews to international ceramics journals, and his writings have been referenced in other publications.

One moment in Hatori’s early career holds particular significance. This moment marked Hatori’s quiet emergence as a Bizen potter outside Okayama—the birthplace of Japan’s oldest ceramic tradition. Establishing such a kiln beyond its historical region was rare, positioning him as the first Bizen-trained artist to do so. This step would later resonate with his lifelong pursuit of Hijiki, the philosophy of “non-color,” through which he seeks to move beyond surface appearance and return to the essence of form. A short video compiling archival materials and press coverage from that period is available [here]. The video is in Japanese, preserving the cultural and historical context of the era.