Chikufu is the master of Rokumeian — an acclaimed avant-garde calligrapher and a lifelong practitioner of Chado (the Way of Tea), shaped by more than 14 years of Zen temple training.

That deep spiritual grounding gives him a rare eye, one that reads the rustic clay of Onta ware through the lenses of wabi-sabi and sacred silence (shinjaku). An internationally exhibited artist with solo shows in San Francisco, Taipei, and Tokyo, Chikufu treats a whole room as a living canvas. As your private host, he opens an intimate, unhurried doorway into the Onta valley — turning a pottery visit into a genuine encounter with the heart and soul of Japanese craft.

Housed in a thatched-roof kominka built in 1861, Rokumeian is a cultural gallery in Hita, Oita, devoted to channeling Zen philosophy through Japanese craftsmanship.

As one of the foremost authorities on Onta ware (Onta-yaki), Rokumeian curates and profiles signature pieces from every active kiln in the Onta valley. That rare expertise led to its appointment, from 2023 to 2026, as the official design consultant and producer of bespoke Onta ware for the celebrated Seven Stars in Kyushu luxury sleeper train. By bringing Onta’s rustic master-craftsmanship into leading contemporary design spaces in Tokyo — among them ACTUS Aoyama — Rokumeian bridges this 300-year-old heritage with modern global design.