Profile

I was born in a  kijishi wood tuner family in Nagano Prefecture and studied lacquerware and design in Tokyo. It has been forty years since I started my work under the studio name tunaroh.

When I was young, I focused on dairy utensils. The range of my work has widened to tea ceremony utensils and interior objects as I was more fascinated with the expression of wood and the depth of the lacquer world.

I might be moving to “ri (transcendence)” in the concept of shuhari (a Japanese martial arts concept, that describes the three stages of learning mastery with shu (protect), ha (detach), and ri (transcendence)).

Biography

1952       Born in a kijishi wood turner family that has continued for generations.

1972-75  Studied lacquerware and design in Tokyo.

1975-82  Return to Nagano to continue the family business and manly worked on wood turning.

1982       Moved the studio to Izu and started making artistic works.

1987     Received an award at the 61st Kokuten exhibition (also awarded in the 76th and 79th).

1996-98     Participated in the exhibition Twelve artisans of contemporary Japanese lacquerware, which toured Germany.

2003     Held a solo exhibition at Kuroda Toen (Ginza, Tokyo), which continues today as an annual event.

2011     Participated in the Daily Utensils and Objects Exhibition and Three Life Styles Exhibition at the Nihonbashi Takashimaya department store.

2012     Tatsuo Okura Exhibition at Sanshin Gallery Zen (Organized and managed by Sano Art Museum).

Other exhibitions: Solo exhibitions in galleries and department stores throughout Japan

Memberships: Talking About Lacquer Association, Lacquer Science Association, Association for Protecting the Copyrights of Craft Artisans