TOMOO HAMADA: ONE GENERATION TO NEXT

An Evening with Japanese Mashiko Potter Artist Tomoo Hamada

Thursday, May 15, 2025

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM EDT

The Japan Society of Boston, in collaboration with the Boston Children's Museum, is pleased to present an evening event with Japanese Mashiko Potter artist, Tomoo Hamada. 

Registrants will be able to hear firsthand from the visiting ceramic artist, Tomoo Hamada, who specializes in Mashiko ware (Mashiko-yaki, a type of Japanese pottery traditionally made in the town of Mashiko, located in Tochigi prefecture, Japan). Learn about his art, his family kiln, his community, and his view on the history, philosophy, and concept of Japanese Mingei - people's folk art.

After the presentation, Hamada will briefly demonstrate some of his working techniques with clay. And to close the program, registrants will be able to speak directly with the artist during the Q&A session. 

Tomoo's grandfather is Shoji Hamada (1894-1978), a major figure in Japan’s Mingei folk art movement in the 1920s, and a recipient of the Living National Treasure recognition in 1955. Tomoo's father, Shinsaku Hamada, (1929-2023), was a respected devotee of Mashiko artisanship who exhibited his works nationally and internationally, a quiet craft maker who truly embraced his studio art process.

Our guest speaker, Tomoo Hamada (1967-), 3rd generation of the Hamada potter family, is formerly trained in contemporary and sculpture art and builds his own unique artistic identity in Mashiko ware while he carries on the traditions of Shoji and Shinsaku. 

In One Generation to Next, we will hear about his life journey through the different stages of his development as an artist at Hamada-Gama Pottery as well as his connection with Boston.

Event is free, but registration is required. This event is for adults, ages 16 and up.

This event is made possible with support from The Pucker Gallery. 

About Tomoo Hamada:

Tomoo Hamada was born in 1967 in Mashiko, Japan, as the second son of Shinsaku Hamada and a grandson of Shoji Hamada. In 1989 and 1991, Hamada received undergraduate and graduate degrees in sculpture from Tama Art University in Tokyo. Hamada has exhibited, lectured, and given workshops internationally and was integral in helping the pottery community of Mashiko rebuild from the devastating Tohoku earthquake of 2011. His ceramic works are included in the permanent collections of numerous museums including the Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Hamada currently lives in Mashiko, Japan on the original compound his grandfather built. In 2012, he became Director of the Shoji Hamada Memorial Mashiko Sankokan Museum.

https://www.puckergallery.com/tomoo-hamada

Hamada's work will be on display to view at Pucker Gallery until June 22, 2025. 

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