HANASENNIN
Painter, Printmaker, and Raku Tea Bowl Artist
HANASENNIN
Painter, Printmaker, and Raku Tea Bowl Artist
PROFILE : 花仙人とは（About Hanasennin）
Raku Tea Bowl / RAKU WARE Artist
花仙人（加藤長一）は、光悦風の独自の楽焼技法を確立した楽茶碗の陶芸家です。
東京芸術大学で藤島武二に師事し、戦後は藤沢で制作に専念しました。
轆轤を用いず手のみで形成される茶碗は、手に馴染む独自の質感と精神性を持ち、
多くの茶人や陶芸研究家から高く評価されています。
Hanasennin (Kato Nagakazu) is a distinguished Raku ware artist renowned for his Koetsu-inspired tea bowls. Trained at Tokyo University of the Arts under Fujishima Takeji, he devoted his life after World War II to creating tea bowls in Fujisawa.
His hand-formed techniques, without using a potter’s wheel, produce bowls with unique tactile warmth and refined simplicity appreciated by collectors and tea practitioners worldwide.
人物と歩み｜Life & Background
新宿歌舞伎町に生まれた、ちょっと変わったお坊ちゃん。
当時の日本はまだ着物姿のひとびとが行きかう時代だった。
大正6年（1917年）8月4日、加藤長一は東京都新宿区歌舞伎町の旧家に生まれた。
東京美術学校（現在の東京芸術大学）の西洋画学科にて日本の洋画界で主導的役割を果たした藤島武二に師事。卒業後すぐに第二次世界大戦に徴兵される。
Kato Nagakazu born on August 4, 1917 in an old house in Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.
He studied Western painting at Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) under Takeji Fujishima, who played a leading role in the Japanese Western-style painting world. Immediately after graduation, he was drafted into World War II.
第二次世界大戦で全てを失ったものの、樂と出会う。
戦後、焦土のなかからの再出発。
関東大空襲により、新宿の実家は消失。ほぼ全ての油絵作品も失い、師匠の藤島先生も亡くなり、失意のどん底で後に結婚相手となる花子に出会う。彼女との結婚を機に、藤沢市鵠沼に移住。ただ、戦争のPTSDにより油絵が描けなくなってしまう。妻花子の『陶芸をやってみたら？』との言葉から、鵠沼の自宅にて楽窯を立ち上げる。
The family home in Shinjuku was destroyed in the Great Kanto Air Raid. He lost almost all of his oil paintings, and his teacher, Mr. Fujishima, also passed away. In the depths of despair, he met Hanako, whom he later married. After marrying Hanako, he moved to Kugenuma, Fujisawa City. However, due to the PTDS of the war, he could no longer paint in oil. Hanako, his wife, suggested him to try ceramics, and he started Raku Kiln at his house in Kugenuma.
芸大でのご縁から｜Mentorship of Tokyo University of the Arts
運命的な友情が紡いだ、樂への挑戦。
筆から手のひらへ…道具からの解放。
同じ東京美術学校の後輩であり、戦時中の舞台でも偶然同じ斑だった吉田耕三（日本画家の速水御舟の甥であり、後に美術評論家となる）より、楽茶碗作陶の指導を受ける。粘土は地元の遊行寺、江の島、鎌倉の青粘土や白粘土を使用。
He received instruction in making Raku tea bowls from Kozo Yoshida (nephew of Japanese painter Gyoshu Hayami, who later became an art critic), who was also a junior student at the Tokyo University of the Arts and happened to be in the same spot on the stage during the war. He used local blue and white clay from Yugyoji, Enoshima, and Kamakura.
光悦を極めた、最高峰にして唯一無二の技法を発明。
手のひらだけで茶碗を生み出す才覚。
彼の楽茶碗の質感は油絵の影響もあり、光沢があるものが多く、
ただ彼の作品の凄いところは、独自に編み出したその技法にある。
物理の法則を利用して、
手のひらだけでとろりと流れる粘土をひっくり返し茶碗を創り出す様は、
まさに神業だ。
その技法のおかげで、奥行きが深く、とても点てやすく、
包み込まれるようなあたたかみが表現されている。
また、厳選した粘土を使用することで、見た目には大きくても、軽い作品が多い。
その極めた技法は、当時、数人の弟子に伝えた。
そして、その創作の現場に長く寄り添い、
花仙人の制作を信頼とともに支え続けてきたのが太田幸男である。彼は、その技と精神を間近で見続けてきた数少ない存在であり、
花仙人の創作の記憶を今に伝える証人でもある。The texture of his Raku bowls is often glossy, partly due to the influence of oil painting, and the main artists who influenced him were Chojiro and Koetsu. However, the great thing about his work is the technique that he developed uniquely.
Using the laws of physics, he creates a tea bowl by turning over the flowing clay with just the palm of his hand,
a truly divine feat.
Thanks to this technique, the depth of the bowl is deep, it is very easy to pour,
and the warmth of the bowl is expressed as if it is wrapped around you.
In addition, by using carefully selected clay, many of his works are lightweight,
even though they may look large.
His mastery of the technique was passed on to several apprentices at the time.
And it was Yukio Ota who stood closely alongside him at the site of creation,
supporting Hanasennin’s work with deep trust over many years.
He is one of the few who witnessed his techniques and spirit firsthand,
and serves as a living witness to the creative legacy of Hanasennin.
大樋焼の十代・大樋長左衛門をも唸らせた出来栄え。
歴史に埋もれていた天才の発掘。
死後、陶磁器研究家で長次郎や光悦の楽茶碗を日本で一番鑑定してきた林屋晴三と、石川県金沢市にある、350年の歴史と伝統を持つ楽焼・大樋焼の十代、大樋長左衛門にその出来栄えの素晴らしさを認められ、世の中に存在を広めるべきだと言われる。
After his death, his work was recognized by Hayashiya Seizo, a leading ceramics researcher and one of Japan’s foremost appraisers of Raku tea bowls by Chojiro and Koetsu, as well as by Ohi Chozaemon X, the tenth-generation master of the 350-year-old Ohi ware tradition in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
They both spoke of its exceptional quality, emphasizing that it was work that deserved to be brought into the world.
長きにわたる、夢。
平和に対する永遠に変わらぬ想い。
20年近く作陶を活動を続け、自宅の窯にて1000点近い作品を完成させた。
自作の茶碗で、全世界の人々を集めて平和なお茶会をすることが夢であり、願いだった。
花仙人は、表舞台で語られる存在ではなかった。
しかし、その作品と姿勢は、
既存の価値観や枠組みの外側で、
静かに人の内面へと作用し続けていた。
一部の人にとっては、
忘れがたい影響を残す存在であり、
まるで“地下に潜りながらも光を放ち続けるような”表現者であった。He has been active in pottery making for nearly 20 years and has completed nearly 1,000 pieces in his home kiln.
His dream and wish was to gather people from all over the world for a peaceful tea ceremony using his own raku wares.
Hanasennin was not a figure of the mainstream.
Yet his work and presence operated quietly beyond established frameworks,
continuing to resonate deeply within those who encountered it.
For some, he became an unforgettable influence—
an artist who, like an underground force,
remained out of sight while continuing to emit a quiet, enduring light.
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