Kitaoji Rosanjin

1883－1959

Ceramicist. Calligrapher. Seal cutter. Born Kitaoji Fusajiro, on March 23, 1883, in Kyoto, as the younger son of Kitaoji Kyoaya, head priest of Kamigamo Shrine. His father died before his birth. Placed in foster care at a young age, Kitaoji was adopted at the age of 10 by the woodblock engraver Fukuda Takezo. After graduating from primary school, he worked as an apprentice at a Chinese herbalist in Kyoto, then went to work helping his adoptive father with his occupation as a painter of western signboards. Kitaoji’s interest in calligraphy deepened once he began entering single-character calligraphy prize competitions organized by shrines, temples, and shops.

Kitaoji moved to Tokyo in 1903. In November of the following year, he exhibited his reisho (scribe’s script) calligraphy, titled “Senjimon,” at the Japan Art Exhibition, where he was awarded first prize. From here, emerging as a calligrapher with outstanding skills, he studied under the auspices of calligrapher Okamoto Katei (grandfather of Okamoto Taro). In 1907, at the age of 24, he struck out on his own under the name Fukuda Outei. In 1910, he traveled to Keijo, Korea, to study calligraphy and seal cutting while working at the Japan-administered Printing Bureau there. He also met with Goshoseki in Shanghai. After returning to Japan, he took the name Fukuda Taikan and spent several years moving from place to place — Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagahama, Kanazawa — deepening his contacts with literary figures and men of refined taste. He produced a large number of nuregaku (engraved outdoor signboards) for well-known historical shops and inns and engraved signature seals for Takeuchi Seiho, Kawai Gyokudo, and others, all of which were highly acclaimed. Kitaoji also studied ceramics with Suda Seika and developed a deep interest in culinary exploration.

In 1916, he took the name of his biological family, becoming Kitaoji Fusajiro, and it was at this point that he began to call himself Kitaoji Rokei. In 1919, he opened the Taiga-do Art Gallery of Antiques (later, renamed Taiga-do Art Store). The Bishoku Club (gastronomy club) was set up in the art shop, serving food to visitors and proving quite popular. In 1925, Kitaoji also opened Hoshigaoka Saryo, a prestigious, members-only restaurant in Akasaka Sannodai. Taking on the roles of adviser and head chef, he crafted both the food and the tableware to great success. In 1927, he had the Hoshigaoka kiln built in Kitakamakura to fire the tableware for his restaurant, becoming a serious ceramic artist and frequently holding exhibitions of his work. Dismissed from the restaurant in 1936 for managerial reasons, Kitaoji thereafter concentrated on crafting ceramics at his Hoshigaoka kiln and dabbled in Japanese painting, lacquer, painting, and other arts.

In 1954, he toured the U.S. and Europe, holding solo exhibitions, giving lectures, and gaining international fame. He died on December 21, 1959.