Kanyū

Kanyū's parents died when she was young and she was taken in by Mashō, the leader of Ceramic Village and creator of the Hanasaki style. She admired Mashō's skills and decided early on that she wanted to be a ceramist just like him. As such, Mashō gave her a pendant to signal that she was a student of Hanasaki; he would wear a similar pendant to signal that he was her teacher. But shortly afterwards Mashō disappeared, and soon so did all of the other Hanasaki practitioners. Mashō's son, Gōshō, claimed they abandoned the village, but Kanyū didn't believe this. She was convinced that they were looking for a new home where Hanasaki could thrive and awaited their return. Years passed and the Ceramic Village adopted new artistic sensibilities: overly ornate and colorful. Though the village prospered, Kanyū found no value in its new style and wanted to bring back Hanasaki. Gōshō would not share the secret to Hanasaki with her, forcing her to try and rediscover it on her own. She set up a workshop on the village's outskirts, near a Hanasaki shrine made by Mashō, and through trial-and-error improved her knowledge of ceramics. But she could never reproduce Hanasaki's trademark appearance, and her frequent pleas to Gōshō for help led to public arguments. Ten years after Mashō's disappearance, Kanyū met Deidara and Sasori, artists themselves. They shared her opinion that the Ceramic Village's artistic sensibilities under Gōshō's leadership were poor, and also believed that she understood what it was to be a true artist. They briefly stayed with her during their visit to Ceramic Village, but secretly destroyed Mashō's shrine while she was working at her kiln. When she discovered this, she tracked them down and berated them for destroying a work of art, unconcerned that they were in currently attacking the village. Because of this commitment to her art, they encouraged her to flee the village so she wouldn't be killed. Kanyū only retreated as far as her workshop, unwilling to abandon the ceramics she was still working on. She was knocked out in the explosion that levelled the village, but she and her workshop were otherwise unharmed. She inspected her ceramics as soon as she woke up and found them to be perfect Hanasaki specimen; the rapid heating from the explosion was the key to Hanasaki, something she'd never had the courage to try. While planning how to best utilise this knowledge, Mashō's pendant was dropped in front of her. She looked up and saw Deidara and Sasori flying away on the C2 dragon. She shouted thanks to them for their help in bringing back Hanasaki. Kanyū began looking for a clay with high heat-resistance, believing that would be the best way to consistently create the Hanasaki effect. She eventually discovered a muddy clay in the Valley of Lies that was perfect for Hanasaki and set up some kilns nearby. There, she met Kiiro, who she later married; Kiiro wears a wedding ring made of Hanasaki ceramics. They eventually had a son together.