Masatoshi Ichino is a third-generation ceramicist from Tamba—one of Japan’s six ancient kilns—located in Hyogo prefecture. Ichino-san was born in 1961 and studied ceramics at the Saga Institute of Art, where he graduated in 1981. After leaving university, Masatoshi Ichino apprenticed under master potters Masayuki Imai and Shinsui Ichino throughout the 80s before establishing his own kiln, which he continues to operate. Ichino-san sources his clay exclusively from Tamba. His work strikes a balance of preserving the heritage of Tamba’s ceramic traditions and presenting something completely new.