Haruka Matsuo

Japanese artist Haruka Matsuo graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam. Having studied under sensei Seigetsu Iriyama, a crafts master of the specific Kigata Bank Yaki technique, Matsuo is the 9th successor of this special ceramics technique to make teapots for leafed green tea.

Kigata Bank Yaki was invented 190 years ago by Japanese craft artist Yusetsu Mori (1808-1882). He applied a puzzled wooden mold technique to teapot-making for green tea ceremonies. After the teapot is shaped, the wooden mold can be cleverly deconstructed and removed from the inside. This technique allows the teapots to keep the warm handmade feel while being very thin and light, perfectly suitable for preparing leafed green tea.

Matsuo adds elements from her own artworks into each tea set giving them a light and modern look. The molds that these tea sets are made with are over 120 years old.

Through giving workshops and holding tea ceremonies Matsuo intends to increase the public's awareness and appreciation of this special and rare Japanese ceramics technique.