1950s Ceramic Art Work by Kumakura Junkichi
Kyoto has always been a city full of avant-garde artists dating back to the Edo period. In the 1940s a revolutionary ceramic group was formed called Sodeisha that changed the ceramic landscape of Japan forever. One of its earliest members was Kumakura Junkichi(1920-1985). Kumakura was one of Kyot... More
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Chosen Karatsu Guinomi by Nishioka Koju
In Karatsu pottery Nishioka Koju(1917-) is a living legend. He has excavated old kilns and studied the ancient ways starting in 1953. He established his kiln in 1973 and his kiln was named by the late great scholar-potter Koyama Fujio. Many other great potters made there way to Nishioka's kiln, c... More
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Edo Period Seto Tokkuri
This type of tokkuri is from Seto and dates to Edo-chuki or the middle of the Edo period, 18th century. It's called a Seto san-dan-yu tokkuri; san-dan means three levels and yu is glaze. The last photo here shows a similar tokkuri in the 'Tokkuri' book published in 1971 by the shuki collector Nom... More
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E-Shino Chawan by Sakai Kobu
Toki-city Intangible Cultural Property Sakai Kobu(1936-) also recently fired his kiln and this e(picture)-Shino chawan was born. Sakai is such a wonderful Mino ceramic artist with a quiet flair. I have seen and handled his white Shino guinomi before (actually I have three new ones to upload soon)... More
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Shigaraki Mizusashi by Koyama Kiyoko
'Koyama takes Shigaraki clay as it comes from the ground, dries it in the sun and crushes it into small pieces with a wooden mallet. After mixing the clay with water and kneading it, she lets it temper for at least a year. Before forming it into pots, she wedges each batch four hundred times'--th... More
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E-Shino Chawan by Okuiso Eiroku
Kukuri, Kani, Okaya, and Ohira are the names of places in Gifu prefecture where the classic Shino wares of the late 16th C. were fired; the greatest kiln being that of Mutabora. The relationship between Shino and the Way of Tea has basically continued on to this very day. Of course there was a la... More
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Overglaze Enamel Tokkuri by Shofu Eiichi
Shofu Eiichi(1915-1991) was a porcelain ceramic master from Kyoto. He was well-known for his deeply etched designs using cobalt blue (gosu) to decorate. He also did delicate brushwork as can be seen on this hexagonal gourd-shaped sake flask. It should remind one of Tomimoto Kenkichi for in fact t... More
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Large Objet d'Art by Akiyama Yo
Akiyama Yo (1953-) is a major figure in contemporary Japanese ceramics. His work is not in the functional vessel realm nor that of the Tea world. It is dark, mysterious, and unlike anything seen since the days of Yagi Kazuo. Yagi was Akiyama's teacher at Kyoto City University of Art (where Akiyam... More
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Bizen Heart Sutra Guinomi by Takahara
It must have taken much time and concentration to carve in the 262 kanji (chinese characters) on this small Bizen guinomi. Yet whether it be for calligraphy or ceramics, The Heart Sutra is a way to show one's devotion to Zen Buddhism, and the unknown. The Heart Sutra, or Hannya Shingo in Japanese... More
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Large Tamba Tsubo by Nishihata Sueharu
This is a masterpiece of a tsubo---plain and simple. It has everything grand in terms of form and firing; flowing natural ash-glaze(shizen-yu) over the shoulders along with a scorched side where the embers fell; the form is classical--a narrow base that swells up to the rounded shoulders. It was ... More
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