Introduction
This week, I had the privilege of visiting a very special exhibition—one that felt, in many ways, like a culmination of everything Kogei Art KYOTO stands for.
The “Ceramics: Three Generations of the Imai Family” exhibition, running through June 21, 2026, at ROKU KYOTO, LXR Hotels & Resorts1, brings together works by three generations of one of Japan’s most distinguished ceramic families: the late Masayuki Imai (1930–2023), recipient of Japan’s Order of Cultural Merit; his son Makimasa Imai, our featured artist at Kogei Art KYOTO; and Makimasa’s son, the emerging ceramicist Sadamasa Imai.
As the producer of Kogei Art KYOTO, I visit many exhibitions throughout the year. But this one stopped me in my tracks—not because of its scale, but because of how completely Makimasa Imai’s work seemed at home in this environment.
Breathing with Nature
What struck me first was the decision to place works outdoors. The gardens and waterways of ROKU KYOTO serve as an extension of the gallery space, and the effect is extraordinary.
A ceramic turtle glazed in luminous turquoise rests at the water’s edge, its ornately patterned shell a striking contrast against the still, reflective surface.
A bird of prey perches on a dark, organic form beside the water—alert, dignified, and utterly convincing as a living presence.
A ceramic animal stands at the center of the scene, its warm, earthy form set against lush green foliage and the hotel’s distinctive European-influenced architecture. n-influenced architecture.
Further into the garden, ceramic animals appear one by one among the moss and shrubbery—a cat and a turtle in quiet companionship, a fox pausing mid-step, small upright figures standing alert in the sunlit grass.
I have seen these animal sculptures in studio settings and gallery contexts. But here, placed within a living landscape, they reveal something different. The outdoor setting does not simply display the works—it activates them. Surrounded by natural light and greenery, these ceramic creatures seem genuinely inhabited. It is a reminder that Makimasa Imai’s sculptures were always meant to exist in conversation with the world around them, not in isolation from it.
The Lineage of Fire and Clay
The indoor exhibition within the arrival wing presents the full depth of the three-generation collaboration.
Here, the breadth of the Imai family’s vision becomes fully apparent. Works by Masayuki Imai—the patriarch whose decades of mastery earned him Japan’s highest cultural honor—stand alongside the contemporary animal sculptures and vessels of Makimasa, and the newer works of Sadamasa. Seeing the three generations together clarifies something that individual encounters with any one artist cannot: that this is a living lineage, not a historical archive.
Masayuki Imai’s large-scale decorative plates and vessels, with their distinctive men-zōgan inlay work—a technique in which differently coloured clays are embedded across broad areas of the unfired body and fired together, exploiting the tension between their differing shrinkage rates—carry the authority of a lifetime’s practice. Fish, crustaceans, and the creatures of the natural world emerge from this process with a depth and presence that no surface painting could achieve.
And the works of Sadamasa—including pieces that blend traditional iconography with contemporary wit, such as the memorable maneki-neko in a spacesuit—signal that the next chapter of this lineage is already being written.
Art to be Tasted: The Chef’s Table at TENJIN
During the exhibition period, ROKU KYOTO’s restaurant TENJIN is hosting a special Chef’s Table dinner, with courses served on tableware created by Masayuki and Makimasa Imai. The concept is a compelling one: to experience the work of these ceramicists not through the eyes alone, but through touch and taste—to hold a vessel made by a master’s hand as you dine. For anyone with a serious interest in Japanese craft, this is an experience worth seeking out.
A Note from Kogei Art KYOTO
Visiting this exhibition as the producer of Kogei Art KYOTO, I came away with a renewed sense of what it means to represent an artist of Makimasa Imai’s caliber.
ROKU KYOTO is not a casual venue. It is a hotel conceived in the spirit of the artistic and craft culture that defines the Takagamine area of Kyoto—the same spirit from which Kogei Art KYOTO draws its own purpose. Seeing Makimasa Imai’s works presented here, at this level, in this environment confirmed what I have always believed: that his ceramics belong in the world’s great spaces. They are not decorative additions to a room. They are presences in their own right.
It is a genuine source of pride that Kogei Art KYOTO can offer Makimasa Imai’s works to collectors worldwide. If this exhibition has sparked your curiosity, I invite you to explore his collection on our site—and to consider bringing one of these extraordinary works into your own space and life.
Discover the Artist. To learn more about Makimasa Imai and view his works available for purchase, please visit his artist page via the link below.
The “Ceramics: Three Generations of the Imai Family” exhibition runs through June 21, 2026, at ROKU KYOTO, LXR Hotels & Resorts, Kyoto.
