Vase-Jar / Tokoname / Tokoname / Ezaki Issei
Tokoname Vase by Ezaki Issei
For a Japanese pottery connoisseur, some names in recent history are important to know, even if they never became "popular" or were named Living National Treasures. One such name is Ezaki Issei(1918-1992). Ezaki is the "godfather" of present day Tokoname wares, as it was he who revived the dilapidated kiln site and restored the glories of medieval Tokoname into the Showa Era. He is credited for reviving Tokoname wares like Kaneshige Toyo for Bizen or Nakazato Muan for Karatsu. If one is familiar with Kamoda Shoji's early work, one will notice a jewel-like emerald ash glaze; he learned this from Ezaki. Although pondering upon "what if's" are often fruitless affairs, many speculate that if Ezaki had lived a little longer, his fame would have grown, perhaps even achieving Living National Treasure status. I vividly remember Karasawa Masahiro, a prominent pundit in Japan, wishing Ezaki had received LNT status in a magazine interview. Ezaki established his kiln in 1952 and won the Japan Ceramic Society Prize in 1973. A few years before that he was part of the legendary three-person exhibition featuring Kamoda Shoji and Mori Togaku. When Kamoda had initial trouble with ash glazes in his early years he went to Ezaki. Here is a full-ripe vase form with Ezaki's lovely emerald-toned glaze over the gray-stoneware front. A museum piece in perfect condition with a signed box, 30cm.tallx16.5., signed on base.
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