Catalog: Artists: Ceramics: Pottery (691)

A spectacular bold statement in burnt straw and raw clay by Master of the genre Yamashita Joji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Hidasuki Hirokuchi Hanaire. Slightly elongated with four somewhat flattened sides, each is a unique perspective. It is roughly 35 cm (14 inches) diameter, 38 cm (15 inches) tall and weighs 8.2 Kg (18 pounds). It is in perfect condition.
Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately.
Yamashita Joji (b. Tokyo, 1947) lives in Okayama, but began his artistic career in the Vancouver Art School in Canada. Upon returning to Japan in 1971 he apprenticed under (to be) living national treasure Isezaki Jun. He was first awarded in 1972 at the 19th Traditional Crafts Exhibition, and In 1973 was exhibited at the 2nd Nihon Togeiten. This was the start of a stellar career, seeing him establish his own kiln in Inbe in 1978. He has since received too many awards to be listed here including the Nihon Togeiten and Top prize at the 14th Tanabe Art Museum Modern Tea Forms Exhibition (Chanoyu Zokei Ten), and served as mentor to a new age of potters including Wakimoto Hiroyuki.

Plovers soar over strips of white and gray along the jagged edge of a green pool on this elongated Oribe slab platter on four raised feet by Kato Kuniya enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oribe O-zara. It displays much of the most notable aspects of Mino ware, from the rough white clay torn and scarred, the rich green of Oribe copper, and the snow-white and gray and of Shino and Nezumi Shino wares. It is 65 x 28.5 x 10 cm (25-1/2 x 11 x 4 inches) and is in perfect condition.
Kato Kuniya was born in Tajimi City, home of Oribe and Shino wares, in 1940. After initial studies at the municipal research facility, he apprenticed under Hineno Sakuzo. Following a stint as an instructor, he went to Kyoto to further his skills where he studied painting, decorating and sculpture, before returning to Toki to establish his kiln in 1970. He has since exhibited with the Nitten Nihon Gendai Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition, Asahi Togeiten, Chunichi Kokusai International Ceramics Exhibition, Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition among many others, and has received many others.

Ready to soar off the table, a magnificent basin by Minegishi Seiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Suiseiji Utsuwa. The glaze is like layers of shattered ice, mirror smooth and emerald (actually Jade according to the title). It is 46 x 30 x 20 cm (18 x 12 x 8 inches) and in perfect condition.
Born in 1952 in Saitama, Minegishi Seiko studied under various masters in Nagano, Tochigi and Ibaragi, going solo at the young age of 22. He worked in Kohiko ware initially, but moved to celadon, and is considered one of a select few true masters of that form in Japan today. He moved his kiln from Saitama to Nasu in Tochigi in 1993, and has since exhibited with the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten, Dento Kogei Shinsaku Ten and Nihon Togeiten among others.

A set of Gohon glazed dishes decorated with Akebi mountain fruits by Komatsu Kin (Hitoshi) fired at the Fuki Kiln enclosed in the original signed and compartmentalized wooden box also decorated inside the lid with the same hanging fruit. Each dish is roughly 16 cm (6 inches) diameter and all are in perfect condition.
Komatsu Kin (Hitoshi, 1902-1989) was born as the son of Buddhist priest Komatsu Baiyu, Head of Enmeiji Temple in Yamagata prefecture. At the age of 16 he went to Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture as an apprentice at a clothing store, but soon returned to his hometown where he worked in a geta store making wooden shoes. In 1920, he returned to Tokyo with the intention of becoming a painter, and attended the Kawabata Gajuku while delivering newspapers. Following the devastation of the Great Kanto Earthquake he moved to Kyoto and studied under Tsuchida Bakusen. In1926, he won the National Painting Award with his wroks "Akibayashi" and "Evening Moon" at the 5th Teiten National Art Exhibition. While living a self-sufficient life in Ohara, a valley town on the outskirts of Kyoto, he created a unique painting world stylistically unique and easily identifiable; rustic yet bold. In 1946, he exhibited "Peony" at the 31st Inten Exhibition and was awarded the Japan Art Institute Award. In 1979, he won the Prime Minister's Prize for "Yuki no Mogami River," which was exhibited at the 64th Inten Exhibition. A year before his death a large traveling exhibition beginning at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art toured Yamagata Museum of Art, Kure City Museum of Art, Hirosaki City Museum, and Takaoka City Museum of Art. He passed away in 1989. In 1990, the Komatsu Hitoshi Museum opened in Kyoto.

Pink belts this blue-gray bowl like the rising sun reflected off a pre-dawn cloud by Yamato Tsutomu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hagi Chawan and featured in the 59th National Traditional Crafts Exhibition (catalog page 65, catalog included). It is 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter and in perfect condition.
Yamato Tsutomu was born the second son of Yamato Yasuo, the man who brought Hagi into the 20th century, in 1965. He graduated the Yamaguchi University of Arts in 1988. He has exhibited with Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition, the Nihon Dento Kogeiten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition) and Dento Kogei Shinsaku Ten (New Traditional Crafts Exhibition) among others. His first solo exhibition was held in 1996. He served as a guest lecturer at Mendocino Art Center in California in 2001, and currently lectures at the Yamaguchi Prefectural University. Work by him is held in the British Museum, the Japan Foundation, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art and Nomura Art Museum among others.

A gorgeous set of five clam-shell Shaped dishes in organic Chossen Karatsu glaze by Koga Kenji enclosed in the original compartmentalized signed wooden box titled Chossen Karatsu Hamaguri Mukozuke. Each dish is roughly 14 x 16 cm (5-1/2 x 6-1/2 inches) and all are in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Koga Kenji was born in Fukuoka in 1936, but did not start potting until much later in life, at the age of 38. He opened his own kiln in 1991, exhibiting with the prefectural exhibition the following year. Not a competitive person, eh has concentrated on private exhibitions, of which he has had many. His work is humble and easy to use true to that vein of the unknown craftsman of Mingei lore.

A playful large bowl by Kim Hono decorated with geometric patterns in black on millet white glaze enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Donburi. The artist has drawn an image of the bowl on the side of the box. The bowl is 14 cm 5-3/4 inches) diameter, 10 cm (4 inches) tall and in perfect condition. Kim Hono was born in Seto City Aichi Prefecture in 1958, and graduated the Prefectural Ceramics School in 1977, then taking up apprenticeship at a local kiln before establishing himself as an independent artist in 1982. He held his first solo exhibition in Nagoya in 1985. He has been exhibited at the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition Dento Kogeiten National Traditiaonal Crafts Exhibition, Asahi Togeiten Exhibition, Chunichi Kokusai Togeiten, and his works being shown in some of Japans top galleries including Kuroda Toen in Tokyo’s Ginza ward. Not to be defined, even by himself, famously when asked by Hohnoho Magazine to define his work he cryptically replied only: Kaze wo Kanjiru Koto (Feeling the wind).

A stone formed bowl covered entirely in platinum by Inayoshi Osamu enclosed in the original signed wooden box accompanied by the shiori and Shifuku. The bowl is carved and torn from a block of clay, then textured with natural stones specially selected for their surface patterns, splashed with glaze and then covered in platinum, creating dry matte regions punctuated by glistening liquid spatters. It is 10.5 cm (4 inches) diameter, 7.5 cm (3 inches) tall and in excellent condition directly from the artist.
Inayoshi Osamu was born in Toyohashi City in 1976, and graduated the Seto pottery school in 2002, the same year he was acknowledged for excellence at the 56th Seto Municipal Art Exhibition. He set up his own studio in 2007, garnering his first of many prizes at the the Oribe no Kokoro (heart of Oribe) Ceramic Exhibition. His unique textures and glaze techniques soon won him acclaim both in Japan and abroad , and he began exhibiting with vigor both domestically and abroad.

A stellar work by Furutani Taketoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu ware-Yohen Tsubo. Fired on its side, a heavy deposit of ash glaze from the 5 day firing blasts the clay, traveling in amber rivulets to gleaming beads around the fractured clay opposite. The mouth of the jar is classic Muromachi style, while the firing technique delves deep into the past while maintaining a proud modernity. It is 26.5 cm (10-1/2 inches) diameter, 32 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Furutani Taketoshi was born the son of master craftsman Furutani Hirofumi in 1974, graduating the Shigaraki Industrial High School Ceramics department in 1992 before entering the Shiga prefectural Ceramics Research Facility studying wheel technique, graduating the following year. He then did a year apprenticeship at a pottery before re-entering for a second course at the Research Facility, graduating in 1995. From that year he returned to the family kiln, receiving the family tradition from both his grandfather Furutani Churoku and father Furutani Hirofumi. Subverting the self, he makes simple, organic pots which have a timeless quality, very much rooted in the now, but paying homage to the traditions past down through the ages. He was named a Designated Traditional Craftsman (Dento Kogeishi) in 2013. He has exhibited with the Nihon Dento Kogeiten among others, and still works closely with his father at the family kiln.

A spectacular vessel by Contemporary Bizen favorite Ishida Kazuya enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Ra (Conch). The marbled clay ripples like sand, emodying the image of ocean life after which it is named. It is huge at 64 x 17 x 28 cm (25 x 6-1/2 x 11 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist last summer, and just emerging from our back room for the first time.
Ishida Kazuya was born in Bizen in 1986. After graduating from high school, studied under Living National Treasure Isezaki Jun. After that, he moved to England and learned traditional techniques, language and culture at a local pottery studio. Invited as a leading artist in the Oxford Anagama Project (Oxford University), which started in 2015, he has been a lecturer on kiln making, firing and production workshops in Europe, Australia and North America. His work makes use of the ideas of slipwear, a traditional British technique that uses colored clay to create patterns, and an original technique that makes use of the centrifugal force of a potter's wheel. Inspired by the beauty of forms created by nature such as shells, strata, glaciers, and stalactites. His shapes fuse the idea of form with the unique Bizen spirit of drawing out the characteristics of the materials and alterations and natural glaze that occur in the wood fired kiln.

A very unusual Shuchu sake server made in box-like form with an angular spout, brass handle and wooden lid accompanied by a cubic Guinomi sake cup by Bizen master potter Isezaki So enclosed in the original compartmentalized signed wooden box titled simply Bizen Kaku Shuki (Squared Sake Vessels). Both feature burnished raw red clay with a smattering of ocher colored ash and red veins of hidasuki. The cup is 5 x 5 x 5.5 cm (2 inches) tall. The Server 7.5 x 10 x 7.5 cm (3 x 4 x 3 inches) not including the handle and spout, and both are in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Isezaki So was born the third son of important potter Isezaki Mitsuru in 1968, and was raised alongside the family kiln. At 18 he apprenticed under Bizen master Yamashita Joji, and was first exhibited the following year. After his 20th birthday he went to America for study, returning to Japan, where he would be awarded the first of many times at the Okayama Kenten (Prefectural Art Exhibition). Again, he would spend a year in America for study, and the influences of design are apparent is his non-traditional approach to this day. He has been exhibited and awarded at the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (Traditional Crafts Exhibition), Tobiten of the Japan Ceramic Art Society and Tanabe Museum Modern Forms in Tea Exhibition, among others.

This guinomi by Watanabe Takuma would complement well the Future Fossil series Sake Server currently being offered. It too has a variegated surface like patched together mtal plates, with brilliant coloration. It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Sake-nomi. It is roughly 6 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition acquired this summer from the artist.
Watanabe Takuma was born in Hyogo prefecture in 1968, and after graduating Kansai Daigaku University in 1991, began studying Bizen ware under Yamauchi Atsushi. In 1996 he entered the Bixen Toen Kiln. Shortly thereafter he began exhibiting and has receied numerous awards at the Okayama Prefectural Exhibition (Okayama Ken Bijutsu ten), National Traditional Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogeiten), Issui-kai-ten, as well as being selected for the influential Tanabe Museum Modern Forms in Tea Exhibition among others. He built his own kin in 2006.

A Future Fossil series Sake Server by Watanabe Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Shuki. Like something out of a Miyazaki Hayao animation, one expects to see steam pumping as the vessel makes its way of its own accord toward the destined sake cup. Each piece in this series has a unique serial number, this number S151. It is roughly 16 cm (6 inches) long and in excellent condition acquired this summer from the artist.
Watanabe Takuma was born in Hyogo prefecture in 1968, and after graduating Kansai Daigaku University in 1991, began studying Bizen ware under Yamauchi Atsushi. In 1996 he entered the Bixen Toen Kiln. Shortly thereafter he began exhibiting and has receied numerous awards at the Okayama Prefectural Exhibition (Okayama Ken Bijutsu ten), National Traditional Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogeiten), Issui-kai-ten, as well as being selected for the influential Tanabe Museum Modern Forms in Tea Exhibition among others. He built his own kin in 2006.

A smokey landscape billows like clouds on this fabulous raw form by Atarashi Kanji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Guinomi. Coals cling to one side, opposite milky green and white while inside a blast of crackled green ice has formed on the wall among a haze of smoke. It is 7 cm (2-3/4 inches) diameter, 5.5 cm tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist. I highly recommend this with the Tokkuri following.
Atarashi Kanji was born in Osaka in 1944, and graduated the Osaka College of Craft design. After 3 years in Kobe, and 4 in Kishiwada (Wakayama) he came to settle in Iga, where he was one of the driving forces behind the resurrection and preservation of the Iga tradition. Although displayed at the National Craft Fair, he prefers the intimacy of the private exhibition, of which he holds several every year. And if ones visit to Japan is not timed right for an exhibition, he can otherwise be found at his kiln working along with his son and daughter.

A wild vessel with torn and faceted sides covered in smoke and embers by important Tamba artist Nihsihata Tadashi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yohen Hanaire (Kiln-altered Vase). It is 31 cm (over 12 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Nishihata Tadashi was born in Sasayama in the mountains of Hyogo, and ancient castle town in 1948. He began potting in 1969, focusing on items for use. In 1986 he first entered the realm of public exhibitions with his entry into the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition in 1986. He was awarded in 1988 at the Kinki Kogeiten regional Crafts fair. In 1989 he would see the first of many awards at the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition as well as a first time entry into the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. In 1990 he would continue garnering fame with the first of several awards at the Tanabe Art Museum Chanoyu no Zokei Ten (Modern Forms in Tea). After that his career has escalated, with many more recognitions at these Expositions.

One of my favorite potters, here is an exquisite yellow tinged vase like the dilapidated bamboo vase in the tea room by Sakata Keizo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hagi Takegata Hanaire. The clay is thick and heavy, giving the ephemeral form strength and juxtaposed sense of permanence. It is 32.5 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Sakata Keizo (1949-2004) was born into the traditional Hagi pottery family of Sakata Deika. After graduating from university, he studied sculpture and spent some time overseas before beginning work at the family kiln. This exposure outside of the very traditional world of Hagi set him apat from many other local potters. In 1978, he was awarded at the First Exhibition of New Traditional Crafts (Dento Kogei Shinsaku Ten). In 1989, he became a member of the Japan Kogei Association and exhibited with that organization garnering a number of prizes as well as being awarded at the Japan Traditional Craft Exhibition (Dento Kogei Ten), and receiving Grand Prize of the Tanabe Museum Ceramics of Tea Exhibition. He was expected to make a great leap forward as the next Sakata Deika, but died in 2004 at the young age of 54. He was posthumously named the 15th generation Sakata Deika.

A fabulous cubist form with charred surfaces and natural ash which can be used both flat on a surface or with all sides rising by Furutani Taketoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen Yu Kaku Hanaire. The texture appears to have been chiseled away, leaving deep clefts in which the flowing ash and coals have hidden and cooled. It is 18 x 18.5 x 18 cm (7 x 7-1/4 x 7 inches) and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Furutani Taketoshi was born the son of master craftsman Furutani Hirofumi in 1974, graduating the Shigaraki Industrial High School Ceramics department in 1992 before entering the Shiga prefectural Ceramics Research Facility where he learned first Small Rokuro wheel technique, graduating the following year. In 1993 he would find himself under the tutelage of Suzuki Iwau before re-entering for a second course at the Research Facility, graduating in 1995. From then he returned to the family kiln where he learned in the time-honored tradition from both his grandfather Churoku I and father Hirofumi (Churokuk II). In 2013 he was named a Dento Kogeishi Traditional Craftsman. Since he has exhibited consistently at the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition. Subverting the self, he makes simple, organic pots which have a timeless quality. As well he dares new forms and challenges the clay with innovative techniques, coercing from the pliable earth challenging incarnations very much rooted in the now, yet still paying homage to the traditions passed down through the ages.

Elegant curves arc across the slightly flattened form of this Bizen Vase by veteran potter Isezaki So enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Henko. It is 22 x 24 x 28 cm (9 x 10 x 11 inches) and is in excellent condition. This was acquired directly from the artist on our recent trip to Bizen this summer.
Isezaki So was born the third son of important potter Isezaki Mitsuru in 1968, and was raised alongside the family kiln. At 18 he apprenticed under Bizen master Yamashita Joji, and was first exhibited the following year. After his 20th birthday he went to America for study, returning to Japan, where he would be awarded the first of many times at the Okayama Kenten (Prefectural Art Exhibition). Again, he would spend a year in America for study, and the influences of design are apparent is his non-traditional approach to this day. He has been exhibited and awarded at the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (Traditional Crafts Exhibition), Tobiten of the Japan Ceramic Art Society and Tanabe Museum Modern Forms in Tea Exhibition, among others.