ALEXCIOUS

Luxury Kaleidoscope with an added twist

"Originality and sheer beauty. Something I have waited for since leaving Japan. The kaleidoscope has been put away for my grand daughter."

The Arita-yaki kaleidoscope is an enchanting piece of fine art combining some 400 years of a world famous Japanese porcelain with a 200-year-old Scottish invention.

Inspired by the therapeutic properties of his childhood kaleidoscope on himself and other patients during a lengthy stay in hospital, Keizo Ishikawa embarked on a journey to combine the fading art of Arita-yaki porcelain with these magical objects. Combining the devoted support and limitless talents of world-stage kaleidoscope maker, Koji Yamami, with master Arita-yaki artisans, the exhaustive process of trial and error began. It seemed impossible at first for the artisans to fire thin porcelain tubes of a consistent size to fit the precisely engineered metal and glass fittings. They experimented over and over and finally succeeded in controlling the contraction after developing highly sophisticated skills.

Kaleidoscopes still continue to fascinate people with their magical beauty, even attracting the attention of the medical world for their therapeutic effects. “The world that opens up beyond the small eyehole of a kaleidoscope is like a microcosm where thousands of flowers bloom.”

Koji Yamami is a world-renowned kaleidoscope artist who has participated in various art exhibits and kaleidoscope shows as well as numerous kaleidoscope projects. He has appeared on a number of television programs and has been honored with an array of awards.

Arita-yaki porcelain has been an important traditional industry in Japan for some 400 years. Originating in the town of Arita on the southern island of Kyushu, Japan, it is one of the most well known styles of Japanese pottery in the world. Techniques were developed and refined to produce many kinds of porcelain ware, the export to Europe of which began early in the 17th century.