[1] As an artist, he works primarily with black pottery, a technique that fires clay in low temperature, smoky conditions to create a dark effect.
Akiyama makes primarily largescale works that often use several tons of clay and exceed 6 meters in length; however, he also produces smaller vessels that can be exhibited on pedestals.
[6] He specializes in 'non-functional' vessels, meaning that his ceramics do not have openings that can be used to contain liquids or other objects, in contrast to earlier utilitarian forms of pottery seen in movements such as mingei.
He also specializes in black pottery, a technique that involves firing clay in relatively low-temperature, smoky conditions to create a dark hue on the surface of the work.
Since that first experiment, Akiyama has refined his technique and manipulated this template to create a multitude of cracks and chasms on the surface of his pieces, in some cases completely inverting the shape.
This use of clay to resemble wood already plays with textural perceptions and the viewer's expectation of the interplay between material and form, but Akiyama takes the visual experience one step further by carving out one half of the cylinder to create a smooth, 'teabowl-like' shape.
"[11] The results are sculptures that explore the fundamental binary tensions that exist in matter including: interior and exterior, generation and decay, and continuity and division.