Potter Jiro Kinjo, designated in 1985 as a living national treasure, died Friday night, his family said Saturday. He was 92.
Born in 1912 in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Kinjo started learning ceramic arts at the age of 13 and brought his own touches to the "Tsuboya-yaki" pottery that originated during the Ryukyu Dynasty, with marine life patterns such as fish, shellfish and shrimp.
In 1972, he moved to the town of Yomitan, known as the birthplace of Okinawa pottery, where he built his own "noborigama," or climbing kiln.