After serving in the United States Army in Korea, he met sculptor Isamu Noguchi in Japan and served apprenticeships with Japanese potter Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883–1959) and potter and Living National Treasure Toyo Kaneshige (1896–1967).
In 1991 the Japanese government designated him as a Living National Treasure.
National Football League | National Register of Historic Places | National Hockey League | England national football team | National Basketball Association | National Science Foundation | National Geographic | National Trust | National Endowment for the Arts | National Geographic Society | Argentina national football team | National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty | National Park Service | National League | Australian National University | National Guard | National Geographic Channel | National Institutes of Health | National Guard of the United States | National Collegiate Athletic Association | United States National Research Council | National Portrait Gallery | National Academy of Sciences | Indian National Congress | United States men's national soccer team | National Research Council | Royal National Theatre | National Gallery of Art | Mexico national football team | National University of Singapore |