The Ohara Tokikan pottery hall is devoted to the work of modern pottery masters Kanjiro Kawai , Shoji Hamada , and Kenkichi Tomimoto , as well as their much admired friend , Bernard Leach , the influential British potter credited with popularizing Japanese rustic ceramic styles and techniques abroad .
After he left Japan , Bernard Leach attempted to export its pottery techniques to the world , but they proved unpopular .