Aki Tamiya was born in Tokyo.
In 1996, she built her first kiln in Mashiko and began her career as a ceramic artist, deepening her practice through ongoing exchanges with Seiichi Imari and the late Ryo Aoki. In 1999, she completed an anagama (wood-fired tunnel kiln) in Shizuoka, where she continues to work to this day.

Her unglazed, high-fired vessels and flower vases—created with a steadfast commitment to yakishime—faithfully reveal the raw strength of the clay itself, radiating a quiet yet assured presence.

Within their pared-down forms lies a profound depth that brings tension and openness to a space, each piece standing as a one-of-a-kind art object embodying a primitive sense of beauty.

Haikaburi Tsubo (Ash-Covered Jar) is born during the firing process in an anagama, as wood is continuously fed into the kiln and the vessel becomes, as if, buried in ash. The ash that naturally settles in the intense heat, together with flame-driven kiln transformations, creates expressions that can never be replicated by human hands—each resulting surface is a once-only outcome.

Image links to product page.

Haikaburi Tsubo Uekibachi (Ash-Covered Jar Planter) is Aki Tamiya’s first attempt to keep the form of Haikaburi Tsubo intact while producing it as a planter. This work was specially created for the Rurbanism online store , and each piece is one of a kind—every single work differs in shape, firing marks, and texture, making them exceptionally rare.

Image links to product page.

In addition, Haikaburi Tsubo Uekibachi shows a presence strong enough to rival the vitality of plants with bold character, such as succulents and caudiciforms.

The plant set in this piece is a grafted cactus: a crested (mutated) Kinkomaru grafted onto an ordinary Kinkomaru, a very common variety often seen in garden shops.

Though cut and joined, the plant continues to live with remarkable strength. Its exuberant growth and life force are quietly received by Aki Tamiya’s Haikaburi Tsubo Uekibachi, which stands as a “living art piece.”

Image links to product page.

Aki Tamiya’s Haikaburi Tsubo works are all one of a kind .

To bear witness to the moment when clay, fire, and chance intersect, Aki Tamiya continues to pour her passion into Haikaburi Tsubo.

Rurbanism also believes in the boundless potential held within these works, and in the beauty that is shaped over time as they are used in everyday life and gradually completed.

The works introduced in this article can be viewed on the Rurbanism online store.