Kiyomizu Masahiro (清水 柾博) was born in Kyoto on April 22, 1954. His father was the sculptor Kiyomizu Kyūbei (清水九兵衛), who in 1981 became the seventh head of the Kiyomizu pottery atelier and took the name Kiyomizu Rokubei VII. Kiyomizu Masahiro graduated from Tokyo's
Waseda University with a degree in architecture from the Faculty of Science and Engineering in 1979. Although he originally planned to pursue this field, but decided to follow in the family pottery tradition because it gave him "full control of the creative process from start to finish." He returned to
Kyoto, where he continued his studies. He spent one year at the Kyoto Prefectural Ceramic Training Institute and another year at the Municipal Decorative Arts Institute in Kyoto. In 1983, he became an official ceramist of the Kiyomizu family. In 2000, at age 46, he succeeded his father to become the eighth head of the Kiyomizu pottery studio. At this time he took the name Kiyomizu Rokubei VIII. Since then, he has attempted to combine the 240 plus years of tradition of his family kiln with his own unique avant-garde style. He is currently an instructor of Contemporary Ceramics at the
Kyoto University of Art and Design (京都造形芸術大学). He describes the goal of his classes as, "not simply to learn the techniques required to make ceramics, but to learn how to use those skills to produce a beautiful form, to create the form you want to express, to create a form corresponding to a specific image." A technique he favours is joining flat slabs of clay in extended forms, highlighting instead of hiding the process of their construction. He then makes cuts to weaken the structure, which results in distortions during firing. In a 2004 survey conducted by Japanese art magazine
Honoho Geijutsu to determine Japan's most important living ceramists, Kiyomizu tied for 23rd place in the popular vote. He was ranked 12th by curators, critics and art journalists. ==Awards==