Niisato Akio was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1977. He completed his studies at the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center in 2001 and works in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture. His representative series “Kouki” (Light Vessels) is made by throwing highly translucent white porcelain on the wheel, piercing countless holes before it has fully dried, filling them with transparent glaze, and firing. While related to the Chinese hotarude (“firefly-hand,” known in English as rice-grain porcelain), in which patterns emerge as light passes through, he has arrived at a unique expression in which the vessel itself seems to be imbued with light. His numerous awards include the New Artist Prize at the International Competition of Contemporary Ceramic Art in Faenza, the Paramita Ceramic Art Prize, the Encouragement Prize at the Kikuchi Biennale, and the Japan Ceramic Society Award.