Tatsuya Hattori 服部竜也 was born and raised in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture—one of Japan’s historic centres of ceramic production. Clay, pottery wheels, and kilns were an ordinary part of the landscape around him, present on walks through the neighbourhood and on his journeys to and from school.

Perhaps because ceramics were so familiar, Hattori initially felt little desire to pursue them himself. It was only after graduating from university that he began working with clay. The material immediately felt natural in his hands, leading him toward the practice he continues today.

Hattori creates vessels intended to move comfortably between different ways of living. Rather than belonging exclusively to either Japanese or Western traditions, his work is made to sit naturally within both—quiet, functional objects shaped for everyday use.