Tatsuo Tajima
Tatsuo Tajima, ("Tatu") was born in 1955 in Tokyo. He originally worked as a film and graphic designer and contributed large-scale image displays mainly for feature films and for such events as Tsukuba Expo '85, Nara Silk Road Expo '87, and Design Expo Nagoya '89 as well as for museums such as Edo-Tokyo Museum. From '93 onwards, with the general shift to digital media, he focused on multimedia titles and graphics as a graphic designer. He has received numerous awards from such competitions as Opel Design Contests, Epson Imaging Contests, and Victor Video Festivals.
From 2005 onwards, Tatu committed himself to pipe making under the guidance of Shizuo Arita and Shigeyoshi Yanagihara. In 2009 he made his debut as a full time pipe artist at Amanoya in Setagaya, Tokyo.
He had his first US exposure in 2011 at the Chicago Pipe Show. Every Tatu pipe shows the Japanese pipe aesthetic with its mix of curved and straight lines & at time asymmetry flowing into a harmonious whole. And always with the famous Japanese attention to detail.