Hamada Shinsaku

Hamada Shinsaku (b. 1929, Tokyo, Japan) is the second son of Hamada Shoji.  He has lived in Mashiko, Japan, since 1930 when his family moved  there and his father started building the Hamada compound. Hamada studied industrial art at Waseda University in Tokyo and thereafter traveled with and worked alongside his father. 

Shinsaku's first solo exhibit was held at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in 1970 and was followed by numerous subsequent landmark exhibits there, including a 2009 show to mark his 80th birthday. In 1978, Hamada Shinsaku became a Kokugakai National Art Association member.

He served as the Director of the Mashiko Sankokan Museum from 1978 to 2012, when he handed the torch to his own son, Tomoo.

In 1999, Shinsaku received the 27th Shimono Citizens Award. His work is included in the collections of the Prefectural Governor’s residence and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. He continues to work and exhibit internationally. 

His style is more restrained and minimalist than his father's and is characterized by robust, muscular elegance evident in pieces ranging from modest guinomi to large-scale works. Shinkaku is a consummate craftsman and his oeuvre offers a distillation of some of the most iconic Mingei elements.