From February 4 to 9, 2025, a ceramic exhibition by Kawamura Kifumi will be held at the Art Gallery on the 6th floor of Nihombashi Takashimaya. It is a great honor for me to have been invited to write the introductory greeting for this exhibition. On the previous occasion, the text was written by Ven. Yokota Nanrei, Chief Abbot of Engaku-ji Temple. I would be delighted if you would take a moment to read it.

Kamakura is a place where sea and mountains draw close to one another, and where the light of the four seasons becomes the very temperature of daily life. For me, it is the land where I was born and raised, and the time I spent facing clay under the guidance of Professor Kawamura was a precious interval that quietly brought order to my daily reflections. The weight of the clay conveyed through the palms, and the subtle rhythm of the spinning wheel, resonate in some way with the landscapes of Kamakura that have been familiar to me since childhood.

The endeavor of sublimating the memory of this land into vessels has been carried on for three generations at Kichūyo, led today by Professor Kawamura Kifumi. His grandfather, Kawamura Kitarō, inherited Rosanjin’s climbing kiln in Kita-Kamakura and quietly preserved and handed down its spirit. That lineage continues to breathe unmistakably in the works of today: in the shadows and patterns on their surfaces dwell, with gentle presence, the humidity unique to Kamakura, the light that filters in, and the textures of its wooded hillsides.

I hope that in this exhibition you will take your time to savor the story of clay woven by three generations of the Kawamura family, together with the profound atmosphere that the land of Kamakura itself holds.

— Takahiro Fujimoto, MD, PhD
Director, Clinic F
Doctor of Medicine, Engineering, and Pharmaceutical Sciences