Historically the highest quality artistry came from within traditions dedicated to inter-generational mastery of mind, matter and material; cultivation of technical prowess; innovation of tools, techniques and processes; and the creation of wholly unique colours, designs, and expressions of material.
Antithetic to Japan's collectivist values, the notion of the individual artist defies and transcends the long history of the studio system.
Devoted to the often gruelling and decades long apprenticeship to a master technician, studio members neither sought nor received accolades for their individual contribution.
