Biography
Michitada Fuanki (b. Fujina (now Tamayu Town), Shimane Prefecture, Japan 1900 - d. 1963) studied Western-style painting at Tokyo Fine Arts School. Then he returned home to take over the family business and revived Fujina pottery at the Funaki Heibei Kiln. In the early Showa period (1926-1989), he participated in Yanagi Soetsu’s folk art movement, and was inspired by Hamada Shoji and Bernard Leach; he produced a number of works that incorporated the techniques of medieval English pottery into his own traditional techniques, which were well received. He also contributed to the development of crafts in Shimane Prefecture by acting as a bridge between Shimane and the central art world. In 1935, he became a member of the Kokuga-kai and in 1962 he gained recognition for the Shimane Prefecture Intangible Cultural Property Shibuna-yaki Technique.
