Matsuzaki Ken was born in Tokyo as the third son of Nihonga painter and Mingei collector Matsuzaki Shuki. He graduated from the School of Fine Arts at Tamagawa University in 1972 and subsequently began a five-year apprenticeship with Shimaoka Tatsuzō in Mashiko. He established his own kiln, Yu-Shin (Playful Spirit), down the road from his teacher’s in 1977. Matsuzaki primarily makes functional forms and strictly controls kiln firing as a way of obtaining desired aesthetics. He relies on natural ash glazes, which form when the silica in the ash vitrifies, as well as the draft that moves the flames through the kiln, which can impart flickers of color on the pottery. These effects are termed yōhen (kiln change). He also experiments with Shino and Oribe glazes. He has been represented by the Pucker Gallery since 2001.