yanase asao pottery

history

Yanase Asao took over the pottery business at a young age as his father passed away at the age of 25 during WWII and his uncle was unable to operate the potter’s wheel due to crippled arms. Asao trained under his grandfather and become the fifth-generation owner of the pottery.

Asao was the father of 4 daughters and the sixth-generation co-owner, Hiroyuki, is one of his sons-in-law.

Sadly Asao passed away on 10th January 2020. He is one the most prominent potters in Onta’s history. He was a hard worker and made lots of ceramics. To prove that, some of his works are still on the market. His ceramics are dynamic, gentle, simple and honest, just exactly who he was.