Shimaoka Tatsuzo lived and worked in Mashiko, studying under Hamada Shoji and is regarded as one of his most important pupils. He is most well-known for his slip decorated works with their distinctive impressed cord design inlaid with white slip. This technique was inspired both by the slip inlay found on some Korean ceramics of the Choson dynasty, as well as the rope-impressed decoration of Japanese Jomon pottery. Reviving this technique of ‘jomon zogan’ (rope-impressed inlay), earned him the title of Living National Treasure in 1996. With this he became the second national Living Treasure in Mashiko after Hamada Shoji. He travelled widely in the US, Canada and the UK, teaching, lecturing and exhibiting, and is well-recognised outside Japan.
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