About the Exhibition and Sale
Traditional Japanese ceramic tableware typically consists of various bowls, plates, cups, and serving vessels of different sizes and shapes for specific uses. Distinct patterns, colors, and finishes reflect the unique customs, culture, and traditional practices of the place of origin, especially if it is in a pottery region. The styles range from elegant porcelain ware to simple, unrefined handmade vessels.
The pottery in this exhibition is each potter's interpretation of Japanese tableware, using traditional and non-traditional forms, styles, and finishes as references. Many are one-of-a-kind.
Pieces include plates and platters, dishes, cups, bowls, vases, and decorative items. All of the pieces are high-fired stoneware appropriate for everyday dining. The general price range for most of the pieces is $10 to $100. A portion of the proceeds will support the JCCH.
Schedule of Events
Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM - Private Opening Reception for family, friends, and JCCH members
Saturday, October 10, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - Public Opening (Meet the Potters)
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 - Friday, October 23, 2026 - Pottery Exhibition and Sale is open to the public during JCCH Gift Shop hours (Wednesday through Saturday from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM)
Pottery Gallery Preview
“It is an honor to be invited by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi to present our functional, everyday tableware, which we hope everyone will enjoy seeing.” – Sanford Murata, potter and former JCCH trustee
About the Potters
This show will feature potters Daven Hee, Ken Kang, Kathryn Lau, Sanford Murata, Yukio Ozaki, Roy Yamashiro, and Gary Yee and will highlight their distinctly different ways to express their passion for creating pottery. Some pieces are thrown on a potter's wheel, others are hand-built, and often both techniques are used on the same piece. The potters have been colleagues at Hawaii Potters' Guild and friends for many years.
Daven Hee
Daven Hee is a local potter and ceramic artist from the island of O‘ahu. Born in Honolulu and raised with traditional Japanese and Chinese values, Daven was officially told in high school that he was meant to be either a farmer or a circus performer.
Instead, Daven throws pots and entertains his students at Mid-Pacific, an arts-focused private school in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, where he serves as instructor of ceramics and leads the 3D art program.
“My functional pottery is made to be used. I like leaving finger marks, tool marks, and glaze imperfections because they show the process of making and the touch of the hand. Each piece is meant to feel personal, comfortable, and lived with.”
Daven maintains an active studio practice. His work can be found in permanent and private collections nationally and internationally, including at the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the National Institute for the Arts, Australian National University.
Ken Kang
My interest in ceramics has been going on for over 50 years. I started out making my bowls and cups with straight walls and perfectly round edges. Going to Japan and looking at their ceramic ware made me realize I enjoyed irregular and earthy shapes. While some of my wares are hand-built, most are made on the potter's wheel and altered.
Kathryn Lau
I first turned to pottery as a way to unwind after a stressful day. Over time, the repetitive gestures of carving and applying brushstrokes have become a meditative practice, offering me a way to slow down and quiet my mind. I work primarily with wheel-thrown and slab-built forms, which allow me to explore a variety of surface decoration techniques.
Sanford Murata
Creating pottery is a joyful journey of artistic expression and discoveries. Indicative of many influences and explorations, including visits to pottery villages and galleries in Japan, my pottery evolves constantly, learning and unlearning, filled with surprises and "aha" moments.
During and after dining in Japan, I like to look at the dishes that the food was served in, especially if they are pottery. I carefully and respectfully turn the plates, bowls, and cups over to appreciate them more fully. Small mom-and-pop diners, izakaya, specialty and upscale restaurants all have their unique tableware. Often, especially in the smaller, more modest food places, the dishes are hand-built, simple, free-form, quite casual, and are not all the same. I guess they have been used for many years. I like that, and somehow it enhances the eating experience for me.
My work has been exhibited in prominent shows such as Artists of Hawaii, Ceramics of Hawaii, and Hawaiʻi Craftsmen, and others. My pottery has found homes in Hawaii, the mainland U.S., Japan, Sweden, and Bahrain.
Yukio Ozaki
I am more of a sculptor-potter than a production disciplined potter. I have been very fortunate to have received many recognitions from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and other Art organizations in Hawaiʻi. I found my real purpose in life when I started working with students at Chaminade University.
I enjoy working on one-of-a-kind forms and accidental findings in my work. Less and less interested in a set design idea from the beginning to the end.
Originally, this exhibition called for "Practical Pottery" of everyday life. Even though it leaned toward Japanese tableware, I am presenting my personal style of functional pottery since I never enjoy making things in a set or series. My works are one-of-a-kind wares that are functional for intended use but not necessarily tableware. I'm hoping that some people are interested in one-of-a-kind works of vessels or art objects with practical design in mind.
An artist based in Hawaiʻi since 1972 and a former professor at Chaminade University, Yukio has created five architectural murals for the State of Hawaiʻi and many of his work in the collections of the State of Hawaiʻi, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the City & County of Honolulu.
Roy Yamashiro
Roy Yamashiro has always been interested in ceramics and his interest in Japanese pottery and chato (tea ceremony utensils) developed during his many visits to Japan and the ceramic villages and studios there. He has studied the making of chato (chawan, mizusashi, hanaire, etc.) at Hawaii Potters' Guild and has participated in several chato exhibits at the Hawaiʻi State Library.
One of the joys of traveling around Japan is visiting ceramic fairs. Each ceramic village has its own type of clay and firing methods that result in ceramic pieces that have a unique finish and style. Kyoto, Shigaraki, Karatsu, Hagi, Mashiko, etc. all have their own styles that are generally easy to identify.
“I’ve observed that it’s not unusual for contemporary Japanese potters to incorporate western/international flavors into their “everyday” pottery and chato. I’ve tried to incorporate my chato-making training with my Hawaii Potters' Guild experience in making the pottery displayed today. I hope you enjoy and like them.”
Gary Yee
Gary Yee is a retired architect who returned to ceramics after retiring ten years ago, rekindling a passion he first explored with his son in the mid-1990s. He sees pottery as a natural extension of architectural form, volume, and spatial awareness, blending structure with hands-on artistry.
A member of the Hawaii Potters' Guild, Gary also trained at the Chozen-ji Zen Monastery, integrating ceramics with Zen meditation, martial arts, and the Japanese tea ceremony. Having lived and traveled across China, Southeast Asia, and Japan for over two decades, his contemporary utilitarian work reflects a rich tapestry of East Asian heritage and artistic traditions.