Tahara Tobei (田原陶兵衛)
The Tahara Tobei lineage (田原陶兵衛) descends from the Akagawa family, a long established pottery line serving the Fukaoka domain’s official kiln known as Fukaoka Hagi. In 1866 the heir Kenji, son of the eighth Akagawa Kiyozo, changed the family name from Akagawa to Tahara, forming the basis of the modern Tahara line. Successive heads inherited the name Tobei, maintaining the family’s standing as a hereditary Hagi ware house. The twelfth Tobei deepened the study of Korean and Joseon ceramics and developed a refined understanding of the tea ceremony, establishing a tea ware centered style. Today the name is carried by the thirteenth generation.
