清水九兵衛

In addition to critically acclaimed works of art, Rokubei VII’s career was marked by changes of name and of specialty. Born the third son of Tsukamoto Takejirō (塚本竹十郎) in Aichi Prefecture, he was adopted into the Kiyomizu family when he married Rokubei VI’s eldest daughter in 1951. At that time, he took the name Kiyomizu Yōji (清水洋士), which he shortened to Yō (洋) the next year. In 1953, he graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts (東京芸術大学), where he studied metal casting. He worked at the Kiyomizu kiln throughout the '50s, and won his first ceramics award at the 1957 Nitten exhibition. In 1963 he became an assistant professor of ceramics at the Kyoto City University of Arts. Two years later he again showed at the Nitten, this time as Kiyomizu Yōshi (清水裕詞). From the second half of the 1960s, Rokubei VII began following his true passion: sculpture. He exhibited his first sculpture in 1966 under the name Kiyomizu Gotōe (清水五東衛). In 1967, he made the radical decision to specialize exclusively in sculpture as Kiyomizu Kyūbei. Although he inherited the headship of the family kiln in 1981, he did not return to pottery-making until 1987, meaning a 20-year gap in works by a Kiyomizu Rokubei. As Kyūbei, he produced contemporary pieces in clay and metal. As Rokubei VII, he not only made abstract works, but also traditional, functional objects such as vases, tea bowls, sake sets, coffee cups and plates. Although he was prolific, according to his heir, Rokubei VIII, "When he began working as Kyūbei, he destroyed his earlier pieces. As a result, very few works from that period remain." In 2000, he handed over the Rokubei title to his eldest son, though he continued to produce sculpture as Kiyomizu Kyūbei until his death in 2006.[74]