Hikaru Yamada
Hikaru Yamada (Japanese: 山田光）(1923-2001) was a Japanese ceramicist, known for co-founding the Young Potter-maker's Collective in Kyoto and the avant-garde ceramic group Sōdeisha (Crawling through Mud Association). During the course of his career, Yamada's oeuvre evolved considerably, beginning with more functional ceramic vessels and moving on to experiment with non-functional or anti-functional works. By the latter half of the 20th century, however, his style had become far more abstract, with a focus on flat ceramic sculptures. Early life and education The son of a Buddhist priest, Yamada was born on December 23, 1923 in Asagaya in Tokyo. To avoid the aftermaths of the Great Kanto Earthquaqke, the family moved to Gifu City, a ceramic center in Japan. He graduated from the Department of Ceramics at Kyoto Higher Polytechnic School (now the Kyoto Institute of Technology) in 1945. Kyoto and Sōdeisha While in Kyoto, Yamada met fellow ceramicist Kazuo Yagi through Yagi's father Issō, a renowned ceramicist. In 1946, Yamada and the young Yagi founded the Young Potters' Collective (青年作陶家集団), while still making more functional vessels and continuing to actively enter his work at the national and local salons, namely Nitten and Kyoten respectively. Two years later, in July 1948, Yamada