大樋長楽 · 大樋長左衛門
The bloodline of the founder of the 大樋焼 kiln ended with the seventh generation in 1894.
After that, two families outside the bloodline each claimed to be the heir. The dispute went to court three times, and in 2003 the court ruled that no one had lawfully succeeded.
The whole story fits into four moments, from a kiln under a daimyō's patronage to a judgment that let no one win.
A potter trained under the Raku family followed the tea master 仙叟宗室 (Sensō Sōshitsu) to Kanazawa at the invitation of the daimyō 前田綱紀 (Maeda Tsunanori)
His descendants were poor and were adopted into other families; no one carried on the craft. The court treats the main kiln as ending here.
The disciple 奈良理吉 (Nara Rikichi) carried the name on as "Gen 8", while the potter 大樋長楽 began using his name around 1930
Both sides may keep their current names, but neither is the "本家" (honke, main house), the lawful successor
Throughout the page, the number in a circle is the source level for that statement.
The Ōhi bloodline ended in 1894 with the seventh generation.
Every name since is a claim made by another family,
and the court found no one to be the lawful heir.
Summarized from the judgment of the Nagoya High Court, Kanazawa Branch 1
To keep names private, the court refers to some people by the ordinal characters 丙 (hei), 丁 (tei), 戊 (bo), 己 (ki), 庚 (kō) and 辛 (shin). Tap a name for details.
The founder and his descendants · left the craft after 1894
Disciple of Gen 7 · 橋場町 (Hashiba-chō) · 大樋美術館
A self-taught potter · 南町 (Minami-chō) · the shop 大樋焼本家窯元 (Ōhi-yaki Honke Kamamoto)
The two lines still work separately, Nara in 橋場町 and Murata in 南町, and both still use the word "本家"
Symbolic map; approximate positions, not to scale
Tap a circle to choose a generation, or use the left and right arrow keys · the break after Gen 7 is where the court held that the main kiln ended
Birth years follow 大樋美術館 3; dates of death and ages follow the court's appendix · birth years for Gen 4 and 5 disagree: Kotobank gives 1751/57 and 1781 · the dealer 八光堂 (Hakkōdō) cites 『石川県大樋窯履歴』 (Ishikawa-ken Ōhi-gama rireki), a record compiled by 道忠 himself, as saying that Gen 3 to 5 used the name 勘兵衛
After the Meiji Restoration the kiln lost its 御庭焼 (oniwa-yaki) status and had to support itself, just as the tea world went into decline. In 1884 the kiln was set up again in 春日町 (Kasuga-machi), but mainly made braziers and charcoal stoves 3. The court record does not mention war or soldiers; the causes were poverty and the adoption of the children into other families.
| 奈良家 · 長左衛門 | 村田家 · 長楽 → 勘兵衛 | |
|---|---|---|
| Began using the name | 1894: received the name 宗春 · Gen 9 used 長左衛門 from around 1925 | 長楽 used his name from around 1930 |
| Their claim | 奈良理吉 was the chief disciple and a cousin of Gen 7, and so "Gen 8" 3 | 長楽 is "Gen 8" and 勘兵衛 "Gen 9" of the 本家, endorsed by 丙 of the bloodline |
| What the court said | The kinship story is false and probably the product of deliberate distortion; the court believed that around 1901–02 the impoverished guardian of 己 sold the family tree to 理吉 1 | "八代" first appears in a pamphlet around 1994, after 長楽's death; the court called it newly "created" (創作, sōsaku) 1 |
| Names they may use after 2003 | 十代大樋長左衛門 and descendants | 大樋焼本家窯元 · 九代(目)大樋勘兵衛 |
| Recognition | 文化勲章 2011 · 日本芸術院 · works in national museums | The prefectural museum credits him with reviving 白幕釉 (shiro-maku-yū) · no national award found |
| Market price | Tens of thousands of yen, up to hundreds of thousands with a 書付 (kakitsuke) | Thousands to tens of thousands of yen |
Born in Kanazawa. After graduating from the ceramics department of the prefectural industrial school (the same school as Gen 9 of the Nara side), he began researching around 1924 and, self-taught, succeeded in reviving the long-lost white curtain glaze 大樋白幕釉. He also made three-color glaze, 三彩釉 (sansai-yū).
Artist register entry for 大樋長楽 · Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art 2
Pale bars are lifespans, dark bars are the years a hereditary potter's name was in use, circles are events. Hover or tap to read.
Scroll sideways to see the whole chart
The gray vertical band across the chart marks Nov 1986 to Feb 1995, when two people were using the name "大樋長左衛門" at the same time
In the first round the bloodline sued the Nara side. The other two pitted Nara against Murata, with the bloodline standing on Murata's side.
Sued to stop the use of "九世大樋長左衛門" (the ninth Ōhi Chōzaemon), then withdrew and signed a written oath, 誓書 (seisho), endorsing the Nara side
Ended with a payment of 2,000 yen, which the 2003 court called "大金" (taikin, a large sum); it gave this document little weight 1
Three suits at the Kanazawa District Court: 昭和62年(ワ)第73号 · 第139号 · 平成2年(ワ)第120号
Court settlement on 24 Mar 1992, confirming "本家と血縁なし" (no blood tie to the main house) 1
A suit over the 1992 agreement, trade names and the 不正競争防止法 (Unfair Competition Prevention Act); each side sought 50 million yen in damages
The appeal court ruled that neither side may claim to be 本家 1
Nov 1986 to Feb 1995 · scroll down to watch the box lids of both lines change, step by step
Gen 9 dies · 年朗 is still using the art name 大樋年朗 · 村田元雄 uses the name 大樋長, read Hisashi (ひさし) 1
丙 authorizes 村田元雄 to use "大樋長左衛門"; now there are two 長左衛門 1
年朗 receives a certificate from the head of Urasenke, then sends letters announcing his succession as 十代 · in Mar, Round 2 begins 1
If a box does not say "十代", check the seal and the 栞 (shiori) leaflet
Court settlement · Murata must stop using "大樋長左衛門" by 11 Feb 1995 and may choose one new name 1
村田元雄 changes his name to "九代目大樋勘兵衛" 1
The appeal court rules that neither side may claim to be 本家; both may keep their current names 1
北國新聞 (Hokkoku Shimbun), 24 Mar 1992, headline "２人長左衛門騒動が和解" · the 10 Apr issue reported that the Ōhi-yaki potters' cooperative had split and could not be reunited 2
The defendant to be barred from using "大樋焼本家窯元" · "九代(目)大樋勘兵衛" · "前大樋長左衛門（長）" (former Ōhi Chōzaemon, Hisashi) · a bar on calling 長楽 "八代目" · cancellation of the trade-name registration · a published apology · 50 million yen in damages plus 5% annual interest from 1 Aug 1993
The plaintiff to be barred from interfering · the plaintiff to be barred from using "十代目大樋長左衛門" · 50 million yen in damages with interest from 17 Jun 1995
This was not a registered-trademark (商標, shōhyō) case but one about trade names (商号, shōgō) and indications of goods
Nagoya High Court, Kanazawa Branch, First Division; judges 川崎和夫 (presiding), 榊原信次 and 渡邉和義. The court set aside the first-instance judgment and decided the case anew.
The 大樋焼 main kiln, with the first generation as its founder, came to an end with the seventh generation, 道忠; after that, no one can be recognized as having lawfully succeeded to its line of work and its name.
The key holding of the judgment
One is free to take whatever pride in oneself one likes, but one may not force others to accept that belief.
The sentence in which the court rebuked the plaintiff
The court held that heirs who did not carry on the craft themselves have no power to let others succeed to the name, so 丙's endorsement in 1986 had no legal effect
The court found that the Murata side made 長楽 the eighth generation in the same way the Nara side had "staged" 奈良理吉 as the eighth
Item 6 of the 主文 (shubun, operative part) splits the costs of both instances into two shares, one for each side
Stories kept apart from facts. The bar on the right shows credibility; five marks is the highest.
| Claim | Who says it | Credibility |
|---|
A note from the report's author: 1930 is both the year 己 sued the Nara side and the year 長楽 began using his name, but no document linking the two has been found.
| Kanji | Reading | Also written · notes |
|---|---|---|
| 大樋焼 | Ōhi-yaki | Ohi-yaki · Ohi ware |
| 大樋長楽 | Ōhi Chōraku | Ohi Choraku · don't write just "Choraku" |
| 陶玄斎 | Tōgensai | Togensai |
| 大樋長（ひさし） | Ōhi Hisashi | Ohi Hisashi |
| 大樋勘兵衛 | Ōhi Kanbē | Ohi Kanbei |
| 村田元雄 | Murata Motoo | unconfirmed |
| 大樋朔芳 | Ōhi Sakuhō | Ohi Sakuho · unconfirmed |
| 大樋長左衛門 | Ōhi Chōzaemon | Ohi Chozaemon |
| 陶土斎 · 陶冶斎 | Tōdosai · Tōyasai | Todosai · Toyasai |
| 奈良年朗 | Nara Toshirō | Nara Toshiro |
| 大樋年雄 | Ōhi Toshio | Ohi Toshio |
| 大樋道忠 | Ōhi Dōchū | unconfirmed · the museum uses Michitada |
| 小川長楽 | Ogawa Chōraku | Ogawa Choraku |
| 幕釉 · 飴釉 | maku-yū · ame-yū | makuyu · ameyu · ame-yū is the amber glaze |