Catalog: Artists: Ceramics (710)

A stunning large Vase by important Hagi artist Yamato Yasuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hagi Ensai Henko (Flattened Hagi Vase in Flame Color). The top is raw earth burnt red by the flame, Below dark iron turns to ocher then the soft earthen beige of hagi, which gives way to pink, then cream before turning dark gray. It is 36.5 x 13 x 35 cm (14-1/2 x 5 x 14 inches) and is in excellent condition.
It is likely no collector of Hagi will need an introduction to this innovative artist. Yamato Yasuo was born in 1933 to a long line of Hagi potters. He learned under his father Harunobu and grandfather Shoroku. One of the first to challenge many traditions associated with Hagi Yaki. He was displayed with Sodeisha, Kofukai, the Nitten, Nihon Dento Togei Ten, Nihon Togei Ten among many others. His list of prizes is most impressive and much too long to write here and his influence on the world of Hagi pottery will likely be the source of a thesis someday in the not too distant future! He has been named an important cultural asset of Yamaguchi Prefecture (ken Juyo Mukei Bunkazai) and is held in the collection of the British Museum among many others.

A life-size feminine image of a toilet slipper by Satonaka Hideto in light colored clay covered with Irabo glaze enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Sakuhin and dating circa 1975. It is just over 9 inches (23.5 cm) long and in excellent condition. From the 1950s to the 1970s there was a deep interest in an earthy convention by young ceramic artists called Tsuchi no Aji (Taste of the earth), and this Irabo glaze may have been one of the most popular extensions of that aesthetic. Tsuchi no Aji is defined as "the beautiful complexion of bare fired earth" in the manner of several types of ancient Japanese pottery traditions and practiced anew by contemporary Japanese potters in the postwar period who admired it as a "natural feeling for the oneness of clay and kiln." Experiments with earth flavor in the sculptural ceramics of the Sōdeisha group ranged from forms suggesting live organisms to clay works that protested the industrial pollution of the earth.
Satonaka Hideto (1932-1989) was born in Nagoya and graduated advanced studies at the prestigious Tokyo Kyoiku University Arts Department in 1956, then went on to study under Miyanohara Ken, exhibiting his first ceramic sculpture with the Totokai in 1961, and garnering the Itaya Hazan Prize for it. Throughout the ‘60s he would exhibit there earning several awards as well as at the Sankikai. From 1970 he moved to the circle of Yagi Kazuo, and would fall under the umbrella of Sodeisha. Two of his works would be selected and awarded for the first Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition in 1971. The following year he would be awarded at the Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition. He would leave Sodeisha after the death of his mentor in 1979. He would participate in the Valauris International Ceramic Biennale among many other overseas extravaganzas. While working as a professor at the Bunkyo University Art Department hi life ended suddenly in an automobile accident in 1989. Six works by him are held in both the National Museums of Modern Art in Tokyo and Kyoto

A Pottery box by pioneering female artist Tsuboi Asuka made as a flowing roll of golden brocade inspired by traditional textiles enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 19 x 15 x 17 cm (7-1/2 x 6 x 6-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Tsuboi Asuka was born in Osaka in 1932, but the family moved to Tokyo when she was 12. She graduated the prestigious and progressive Jiyu Gakkuen (A progressive girls School established in 1921) then moved to Kyoto in 1953, Kyoto, the city she has called home for half a century, where she would spend a year at the Sentsuji Yusai Kobo before enlisting under Living National Treasure Tomimoto Kenkichi. Her first works were exhibited that year at the Shinshokogeikai (where she would be awarded in 1955). She worked to establish the Joryu Togei Ten Ceramic Exhibition for female artists in 1957, to allow women a venue to exhibit works in what was then a very male dominated field. In 1961 she was accepted into the Asahi Togeiten Ceramic Exhibition, and in 1966 would be selected to represent contemporary Japanese ceramics in China, the following year saw he take a study trip to Korea, and in 1970 to Thailand while her work was exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, which would purchase her work in ’71 . She would be awarded at the Canadian International Ceramic Exhibition in 1973, and since her work has been exhibited throughout the globe. Here work to promote the arts was recognized in 1988 with the Kyoto Prefectural Order of Arts and Culture Award, and in 1991 with the Kyoto city Order of Cultural Merit, and again in 1992 with the prefectural Order of Cultural Merit. All culminated in her receiving the Japan Ceramic Society Gold prize, perhaps the most important award allowed a potter, in 2004. Her work can be found in Museum collections including several works in both the Museums of Modern Art in Tokyo and Kyoto, Fukui and Wakayama Prefectural Museums of Art, Suntory Museum, Shiga Togei No Mori Museum, Ariana Museum, Yale University Museum and The International Ceramics Museum in Faenza. According to the book Touch Fire: Tsuboi Asuka's influence on the ceramic arts of Japan cannot be overstated. As one of the first women to aggressively challenge the male hierarchy, she forged a role for women ceramic artists that previously did not exist in Japan. Tsuboi was the charismatic leader of the influential Kyoto women's ceramic group Joryū Tōgei (Women's Association of Ceramic Art) when it was first formed in 1957. This group was pivotal not only in providing a platform for women to participate as artists in their own right, but in giving them the opportunity to present their challenging work to the public.

A humble crackled white bowl by Koie Ryoji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Chawan. Inside drops of spilled ink and a bit of blank canvas (raw earth) like a minimalist painting from the 1950s. It is 14.5 cm (5-5/8 inches) diameter, 8 cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Koie Ryoji (1938-2020)) was born in Tokoname and graduated the Tokoname industrial school before moving on to work at a tile factory in 1957, where he would lose two fingers in an industrial accident. Faced with this handicap, he entered the City Ceramics Research Facility in 1962 where he furthered his studies and his unique style began to coagulate. In 1966 he established his own studio. By the early 70s his work was garnering attention overseas and he has since been largely displayed and prized culminating in a lifetime with the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Award in 2008, the most prestigious of pottery prizes in Japan. Work by him is held in the collections of the National Museums of Modern Art in both Tokyo and Kyoto, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Idemitsu Museum, The Museum of Fine Art in Gifu, Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Seoul Museum of Art in Korea, and the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia among many other public and private collections.

A ceramic koro incense burner, the stone-like body decorated with a portion of a red ring by Sato Kazuhiko enclosed in the original wooden box with all the exhibition paraphernalia. It is 8-1/2 x 4 x 8 inches (21.5 x 10 x 20 cm) and is in excellent condition. This piece was exhibited at Tokyo’s Nipponbashi Mitsukoshi in 1994 and was published in the December edition of the magazine Fujin Gaho that same year. A copy of the article on the artist is enclosed and the original Exhibition labels are attached.
One of my personal favorites, Sato Kazuhiko was born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1947. He graduated the Tokyo University of Art Ceramic department advanced studies in 1972. Trained under Living National Treasures Tamura Koichi and Fujimoto Yoshimichi, his graduation work was awarded a prize. He held his first solo exhibition the next year, a difficult feat for a young artist. In 1979 his work was displayed in New York’s Bloomingdales Department store, and the following year he was selected for exhibition in Sidney and Melbourne, Australia. Three years later his works would travel to Washington DC and London. From there he blossomed, one can only wonder how he kept up wth the demand or the number of exhibitions he was asked for each year. He is a widely displayed artist and author of many books on the ceramic arts. He also plays guitar, and piano, self taught! For more information on this artist see Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections (1993).

A double gourd shaped covered water jar by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oni-Shino Mizusashi and inside named Robai-ju (Robai is a type of early blossoming plum, Ju is ball). It is just under 7 inches (17.5 cm) diameter, 6 inches (15 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006) was not only an accomplished ceramic artist, but also a painter, calligrapher, sculptor and musician. Born in Niigata prefecture, he was at Waseda University in 1941 when he was summarily drafted into the Army. After the war he attended the Arts course of Nippon Daigaku University and was struck by the works of Living National Treasure Arakawa Toyozo, to whom he apprenticed in the arts of Shino and took his mentors work to a new level. Like all art, his was alive and always evolving. Starting with the replication and research of Momoyama techniques to the culmination of his efforts in Oni-shino, Nahiko has taken Shino beyond all others. It was not an easy road, for the first 15 years he worked for a ballet school, spent time as a recluse priest at Myoanji temple, and wandered the country playing the shakuhachi. It was a time of great change in Japan, starvation was rampant immediately after the war and supporting oneself through the little-known art of Shino-yaki was difficult. However, he persevered, along with Toyozo, Kato Juuemon, Kato Kohei and others, to bring Shino to the forefront of ceramic arts. Heavily prized domestically and abroad in his lifetime, his low output and unique quality make his work a must have for collectors.

An early brutal vase by female pottery legend Tsuboi Asuka covered in running colors enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Nagashi-yu Tsubo. It is 25 cm (10 inches) diameter 20cm (8 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Tsuboi Asuka was born in Osaka in 1932, but the family moved to Tokyo when she was 12. She graduated the prestigious and progressive Jiyu Gakkuen (A progressive girls School established in 1921) then moved to Kyoto in 1953, Kyoto, the city she has called home for half a century, where she would spend a year at the Sentsuji Yusai Kobo before enlisting under Living National Treasure Tomimoto Kenkichi. Her first works were exhibited that year at the Shinshokogeikai (where she would be awarded in 1955). She worked to establish the Joryu Togei Ten Ceramic Exhibition for female artists in 1957, to allow women a venue to exhibit works in what was then a very male dominated field. In 1961 she was accepted into the Asahi Togeiten Ceramic Exhibition, and in 1966 would be selected to represent contemporary Japanese ceramics in China, the following year saw he take a study trip to Korea, and in 1970 to Thailand while her work was exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, which would purchase her work in ’71 . She would be awarded at the Canadian International Ceramic Exhibition in 1973, and since her work has been exhibited throughout the globe. Here work to promote the arts was recognized in 1988 with the Kyoto Prefectural Order of Arts and Culture Award, and in 1991 with the Kyoto city Order of Cultural Merit, and again in 1992 with the prefectural Order of Cultural Merit. All culminated in her receiving the Japan Ceramic Society Gold prize, perhaps the most important award allowed a potter, in 2004. Her work can be found in Museum collections including several works in both the Museums of Modern Art in Tokyo and Kyoto, Fukui and Wakayama Prefectural Museums of Art, Suntory Museum, Shiga Togei No Mori Museum, Ariana Museum, Yale University Museum and The International Ceramics Museum in Faenza. According to the book Touch Fire: Tsuboi Asuka's influence on the ceramic arts of Japan cannot be overstated. As one of the first women to aggressively challenge the male hierarchy, she forged a role for women ceramic artists that previously did not exist in Japan. Tsuboi was the charismatic leader of the influential Kyoto women's ceramic group Joryū Tōgei (Women's Association of Ceramic Art) when it was first formed in 1957. This group was pivotal not only in providing a platform for women to participate as artists in their own right, but in giving them the opportunity to present their challenging work to the public.

An iconic vessel by the sommelier of Tsuchi-aji (Clay flavor) Otani Shiro covered in a thick layer of charred goma-ash enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yakishime Tsubo. Inside the box lid it is dated 1984 with an annotation reading Chato Tennessee ni-te (Tea-ware in Tennessee). It is 20.5 cm (8 inches) diameter, 17 cm (just less than 7 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Otani Shiro was born in Shigaraki in 1936 and graduated the Prefectural School in the ceramics department in 1956, which he followed up with 4 years studying decorating techniques under Morioka Yutaro. He then moved to Kyoto where he studied at the Municipal Ceramics Research Facility, where he trained under Kiyomizu Kyubei, Shofu Eichi and Uchida Kunio before returning to Shigaraki to yet further his studies in design. He garnered his first award at the Shiga Prefectural Art Exhibition in 1962, as well as the Governor’s prize at the National Rodosha Bijutsu-Ten Exhibition. He took a position with an industrial kiln in Shigaraki in 1963, and began potting in his free time, exhibiting and being awarded at the Asahi Togeiten among others. In 1968, he left his position at the kiln, and in 1969 was first accepted into the National Traditional Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogeiten). In 1973 he established his own kilns in Shigaraki, both an Anagama submerged kiln and a climbing kiln, and began learning from future Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi. From there he participated in the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (National crafts Exhibition) as well as innumerable private exhibitions both domestic and International, and was named an Intangible Cultural Asset of Shigaraki in 1990. His work is held in The Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Fogg Art Gallery of Harvard as well as the Morikami Museum and Smithsonian among others. For an in depth look at this potter see the article by Rob Barnard in Ceramics Monthly volume 39 (Summer 1991).

A very large Kutani Vase decorated by eccentric Zen Priest and painter Shimizu Kosho enclosed in the original sgned wooden box. The outer surfaceis covered in genuine gold, overwhich has been brushed the decorative calligraphy reading……Hana mushin Maneku chocho, mushin tazuneru shin. The box lid is attributed within to having been fired at the Kutani Shoryu kiln by Kosho himself, and the pot is signed on the base Ryu. The vase is over 12 inches (31 cm) tall, 9 inches (22 cm) diameter and in excellent condition. Kosho (1911-1999) was a unique and prolific artist-priest studied in the eccentric painting style associated with Nara. He was long time abbot of the massive Todai-ji temple complex in Nara, home of the great Buddha. Like many priests, he began producing art to propogate his teachings later in life. He proved extremely popular, the nonchalant style plucking a string in the Japanese heart. He worked in various media, refusing to be defined, and his work is as eccentric as it is unique, and highly sought in Japan.

A crumpled news print from the New York Times dated 82-5 by pioneering Ceramic Sculpture Icon Mishima Kimiyo enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 25 x 14 x 13.5 cm (10 x 5-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Mishima Kimiyo was born in Osaka in 1932, and began her artistic career as a painter in the early 1960s. She started making collages with newspapers, discarded waste papers from printing companies, and old movie posters. As the materials she used for her collages accumulated in her studio, she came upon the idea to make her iconic newspaper-shaped ceramics. She said, "I thought that if I changed the newspaper's paper into ceramics, it might express a sense of impending crisis or instability regarding 'information'." She was awarded the Ja@an Ceramics Society Gold Award in 2021, testament to her contributions and to the progressive nature of the JCS. The list of institutions holding her work is formidable and includes the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Tokyo, Musee Cernoschi, Paris, the Museum of Faenza in Italy, the Ariana Museum in Geneve, the Keramion Museum for Contemporary Ceramic Art in Germany, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Everson Museum of Art in New York, the Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama, the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, the Gifu Prefectural Contemporary Ceramic Museum of Art and Benesse Art Site on Naoshima among many others.

A set of five Yunomi in pale glaze with green stripes by Koyama Fujio enclosed in the original wooden box titled Yunomi and signed Hananoki Gama. Each is 8 cm (3 inches) tall, 6 cm diameter and all are in excellent condition. The writing on the box is unmistakably that of Fujio.
Koyama Fujio was born in 1900 in Okayama Prefecture. From 1925 he studied under Mashimizu Zoroku and began making pottery in Kyoto. In 1941 he participated in a research trip to ancient kiln sites in China and discovered the old Ding Kiln site. His contribution to research in ancient potteries cannot be overestimated. He worked in the Tokyo Teishitsu Museum (current Tokyo National Museum), and then joined the Intangible Culture Division of Cultural Properties Protection Committee. In 1955 he helped to curate the Song porcelain masterpieces exhibition which was held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Japan Ceramic Association. In 1959 he was appointed Cultural Properties Investigator, Intangible Culture Division, Cultural Properties Protection Committee Secretariat. In 1961 he was named an honorary member of the British Oriental Ceramics Association. In 1967 he was appointed Chairman of the Japan Crafts Association. In 1971 he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class by the emperor. In 1972 he was awarded the Kanagawa Prefectural Award for Cultural Merit, then established the Hananoki Kiln in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture. He died three years later.

Orange peel textured black Chawan by Samukawa Seiho I (Yoshikazu 1899-1975) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kishu Yaki Nacchi-guro Chawan. It is 5-1/4 inches (13.5 cm) diameter, 3-1/2 inches (9 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Born in Osaka in 1900 and raised in Kyoto, Samukawa Seiho I began his apprenticeship in tea ware under Sawada Muneyama in 1919. With a letter of introduction he entered the Aichi Prefectural Ceramics Research Facility in 1927. In 1935 he moved to the Buddhist enclave of Koyasan in Wakayama where he established his first kiln. He succeeded with the development of this Nacchi-guro glaze in 1956, and it became one of the signature features of his work. In 1962, his tea bowl was presented to the Emperor. Five years later he would move, re-establishing his kiln in Shirahama-cho. He was awarded the Bunka Rodosho Cultural Prize in 1970, and in 1972 the Wakayama Order of Cultural Merit.

Vibrant yellow overfills this deep plate by Living National Treasure Tokuda Masahiko (Yasokichi III) enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 21cm (Just over 8 inches) diameters, 6.5cm (2-1/2 inches) tall and in perfect condition.
Tokuda Yasokichi III (Masahiko, 1933-2009) was born the first son of Tokuda Yasokichi II who had been adopted as a teenager into the Tokuda family. Masahiko graduated from the Kanazawa school of arts, and took up apprenticeship under his grandfather and father Yasokichi I & II. Well versed in orthodox Kutani design, he broke with tradition developing his own unique style titled Saiyu in the 1970s. By broadening his spectrum with this new style of Kutani ware he garnered considerable attention. In 1986, he was named a Bearer of Important Intangible Cultural Assets by Ishikawa Prefecture (local version of Living National Treasure) and a decade later was designated Living National Treasure in 1997 for his supremacy in the use of Kutani glazes. Yasokichi III, His works are held by the Polk Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, The British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Smithsonian, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and Kanazawa Contemporary Museum of Art among many others.

A rare Mizusashi in rust colored glaze by Living National Treasure Hamada Shoji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kaki-yu Ori-e Mizusashi. It is roughly 15 cm diameter, the same height and in excellent condition.
Hamada Shoji (1894-1978) was born in Tokyo, and enrolled in the Tokyo Technical University at the age of 19. In 1918 he met the important British potter Bernard Leach, and the history of ceramic arts was forever changed. One of the most influential and sought after of all Japanese Ceramic artists. He was a significant influence on studio pottery of the twentieth century, and a driving force of the mingei folk-art movement. In 1955 he was designated a "Living National Treasure". There is no shortage of reading material for those who would like to learn more about this potter.

A gorgeous set of five clam-shell Shaped dishes in organic Chossen Karatsu glaze tinged with unusual blue by Koga Kenji enclosed in the original compartmentalized signed wooden box titled Chossen Karatsu Hamaguri Mukozuke. The flow of glaze is like the stormy ocean washing up onto the rugged coastline, Each dish is roughly 12 x 14 cm (4-3/4 x 5-1/2 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.

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 brilliantly colored bowl studded with shiseki and slashes of black by Banura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 14 cm diameter, 7 cm tall and in excellent condition.
Banura Shiro (1941-2001) was born the fourth son of influential Lacquer Artist Banura Shogo. His sensitivity to textures may stem from that exacting influence. Although his older brother succeeded the family tradition (another branching into paper arts), Shiro, after graduating the Kyoto University of Fine Art, apprenticed in the plastic arts under Kawamura Kitaro (1899-1966) who was a student of Kitaoji Rosanjin. Rosanjin, a restaurateur, artist, and overall renaissance man believed the dish was there to support and bring out the beauty of food served. Shiro took this as his raison d’etre; his lifetime pursuit to create dishes which complimented the seasonality, texture, color and flavor. He had an impressive list of exhibitions, including a private exhibition at the Umeda Kindai Bijutsu-Ten as well as the Niponbashi Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya, and Ikebukuro Tobu, the equivalent of being displayed on New Yorks Fifth Avenue or other cities most Trendy streets, as well as many international exhibitions. Like most Iga-area artists, his output was low, but quality and originality high, making his work very much in demand.

A playful sculpture which challenges the viewers perception by Hayashi Yasuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Sakuhin (work). It is 12.5 x 9 x 12.5 cm and in perfect condition. According to a description of a similar work in the collection of the Met: Hayashi’s series of black and gray coil-built trompe l’oeil “boxes,” a group that was inspired by his experience flying without lights at night as a kamikaze pilot... this work presents new ways of looking at three-dimensional forms. Hayashi trained in the Japanese style of painting prior to World War II. After the war he became fascinated by avant-garde Western artists, including Pablo Picasso, whose work influenced his early ceramics. He then developed the spare, abstract style that characterizes his mature art. The artist created this piece’s surface patterning by masking certain areas and using an atomizer of his own design to spray glaze onto the stoneware before firing.
Hayashi Yasuo was born in Kyoto in 1928, son of a potter. He began to study traditional painting in 1940, but his studies were interrupted by the Second World War. Folowing the conflict and discharge from the military, he began making pottery, helping to found the Shikokai ceramic society of avant-garde ceramicists in 1947. His artistic career is daunting, and much too long to put into this brief introduction including many awards both domestic and abroad (Italy, France, Portugal, Canada, Australia, New Zealand…). Also he has been the focus of solo exhibitions in some of the most important galleries throughout the Japanese archipelago as well as the United States, Australia and Germany. He is held in the collection of the Museum of Art & Design, New York, Everson Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, National Gallery of Australia, National Ceramic Museum Sevres in France, Vallauris Ceramic Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Faenza International Ceramics Museum, Museum of Decorative Art, Prague, Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Seoul Metropolitan Museum in South Korea, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Art, Osaka, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art and Museum of Contemporary Ceramics in Shigaraki among many others.

A floral sweep of wheat is incised into the side of this blue tinged white porcelain incense burner by Japanese Living National Treasure Inoue Manji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hakuji Some Mugi Chomon Koro (White Censer Incised with Blue Wheat). It is 12 cm (just less than 5 inches) to the top of the finial and is in excellent condition.
Inoue Manji was born in Saga Prefecture on the southern Island of Kyushu, home of Arita and the port of Imari, the first porcelain production center in Japan. He learned from the age of 16 under the 13th Sakaida Kakiemon and Okugawa Chuuemon, and was recognized as having a knack for Hakuji sheer porcelain. From 1958 he worked at the Saga Prefectural Ceramics Research Laboratory. He was awarded the Governors prize at the 1987 National Traditional Crafts Exhibition, and was named a living National Treasure in 1995. Two years later he received the Order of Cultural Merit with Purple Ribbon from his Imperial Majesty.

A Wide covered container decorated with both colorful and engraved camellia blossoms by Takauchi Shugo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Tsubaki-Mon Futamono/ It is 23 cm (9 inches) diameter, 18 cm (7-1/2 inches) to the finial and in excellent condition.
Takauchi Shugo was born in Tokyo in 1937. He opened his kiln in Mashiko at the age of 31. He has exhibited at the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition and as well as Gendai Nihon Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition in addition to innumerable public and private exhibitions. He is recipient of the Order of Cultural Merit from Tochigi Prefecture, and his works have been selected for international exhibitions (Paris, London, Denmark and America) and work by him is held in the V&A, The Art Gallery of New South Wales. For more see the Book “Japanese Studio Crafts” (1995) by Rupert Faulkner of “Fired with Passion” (2006) by Beatrice Chang and Samuel J Lurie.

A refined set of Tokkuri and Sake-cup by Banura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Shuki. Exquisite, the flask is more delicate than usual, with a long diaphanous spout and decidedly thin rim. This is made for a discerning drinker, entirely about quality not volume. The cup too is perfectly formed with a thin rim everted ever so slightly, a pleasure to drink from. This set is the perfect complement to a true kaiseki meal. The bottle is 12 cm (4-5/8 inches) tall, the cup 5.8 cm (2-1/4 inches) diameter and both are in perfect condition.
Banura Shiro (1941-2001) was born the fourth son of influential Lacquer Artist Banura Shogo. His sensitivity to textures may stem from that exacting influence. Although his older brother succeeded the family tradition (another branching into paper arts), Shiro, after graduating the Kyoto University of Fine Art, apprenticed in the plastic arts under Kawamura Kitaro (1899-1966) who was a student of Kitaoji Rosanjin. Rosanjin, a restaurateur, artist, and overall renaissance man believed the dish was there to support and bring out the beauty of food served. Shiro took this as his raison d’etre; his lifetime pursuit to create dishes which complimented the seasonality, texture, color and flavor. He had an impressive list of exhibitions, including a private exhibition at the Umeda Kindai Bijutsu-Ten as well as the Niponbashi Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya, and Ikebukuro Tobu, the equivalent of being displayed on New Yorks Fifth Avenue or other cities most Trendy streets, as well as many international exhibitions. Like most Iga-area artists, his output was low, but quality and originality high, making his work very much in demand.

Ethnic designs in brilliant crimson red decorate this ewer by Yoshikawa Mitsuru enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Aka-e no Binshi (Red Decorated Server). It is 15 x 12 x 15 cm (6 x 4-3/4 x 6 inches) and is in excellent condition. Together with the sake cups and sake pot, this would be a wonderful service set for two. Anyone wishing to purchase this group will receive a proper discount.
Yoshikawa Mitsuru was born in Kyoto in 1949, graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Arts advanced studies in ceramics in 1976. He has been exhibited at the Asahi Craft Exhibition, Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition, Asahi Togeiten Ceramics Exhibition and his works have been collected by Kyoto City. He has been picked up by many of Japan’s preeminent galleries, including private exhibitions at the prestigious Takashimaya and Kuroda Toen of Tokyo’s Ginza District.

A fabulous wan-gata chawan on prominent foot reminiscent of the forms from his Okinawan experience by pottery legend Hamada Shoji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kuro-yu Sabi-zo Chawan. An undulating snake of rust color drapes from the rim over the glossy black glaze, the effect mirrored around the foot ring. It is 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 8.8 cm (3-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Hamada Shoji (1894-1978) was born in Tokyo, and enrolled in the Tokyo Technical University at the age of 19. In 1918 he met the important British potter Bernard Leach, and the history of ceramic arts was forever changed. One of the most influential and sought after of all Japanese Ceramic artists. He was a significant influence on studio pottery of the twentieth century, and a driving force of the mingei folk-art movement. In 1955 he was designated a "Living National Treasure". There is no shortage of reading material for those who would like to learn more about this potter.

A playful troupe of elephants parade around the rim of this early bowl by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a signed wooden box titled Zobachi. The creatures are in relief, raised from the surface, not engraved into it. This was made by pressing the clay slab onto a surface into which were engraved the family of creatures. It is roughly 13cm 12.7 cm (over 5 inches) diameter, 6 cm (2-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Shigemori Yoko (1953-2021) was born in Kagoshima. Yoko came to Kyoto where she initially studied painting at the Kyoto Tankidai Art College, then moved to ceramics at the Kyoto Municipal Art University where she studied traditional pottery techniques under Kondo Yutaka before entering advanced courses under avant-garde Yagi Kazuo, graduating in 1979. Her first solo exhibitions were held while still a student at Gallery Iteza in Kyoto. She eschewed the world of competitive exhibitions in favor of the intimacy of private galleries, and her list of solo exhibitions is expansive. She received the Yagi Kazuo prize in 1986 and 1988 at the Nihon Gendai Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition. She was one of five artists featured in Toh, volume 76, the first issue dedicated to Kyoto potters. Toh was, at the time

Spectacular Hi-iro defines this sake set by Konishi Toko II enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Various shades of color scorch the undecorated flame licked raw earth. A pleasure to drink from in every aspect, every cup offering a new facet. The tokkuri is 5-1/2 inches (14 cm) tall, cups 2-1/4 inches (6 cm) diameter and all is in perfect condition. Toko, of course, learned from his father Toko I (1899-1954) and was succeeded by his own son Toko III.

A pair of exquisite fluted porcelain bottles decorated in rich color by Tokuda Yasokichi II enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Flowers in various colors, red, yellow, purple blue and green rise up between patterned undulating bands of green and blue. Each is signed on the base in a yellow seal Kutani Yasokichi. They are 15 cm tall and in perfect condition.
The Tokuda family kiln was established by the first Yasokichi (1873-1956)、born into the house of a textile dying family. As one might expect, he initially studied painting under the tutelage of the famous Araki studio. Returning to his home he became employed decorating Kutani ware under his Brother in Law, Matsumoto Sahei, at the Shoun-Do. However after a sojourn in ceramic production under Asakura Isokichi he broke away and established his own kiln where he chafed at the cheap export ware being produced and began a lifelong search for the roots of Ko-Kutani. A search for which he was honored as a Living National Treasure in 1953. Just three years later the kiln was succeeded by his son, Yasokichi II (1907-1997). Yasokichi II was adopted into the Tokuda family in 1923, and studied initially at the Kyoto National Ceramics Research Facility alongside Hamada Shoji and Kanjiro Kawai. He learned under the tutelage of Living National Treasure Tomimoto Kenkichi before devoting himself fully to the family business. He was awarded at the Brussels World Exposition, Nitten, received the Hokuto-sho prize along with many others, and was displayed in Europe and America. He took many opportunities to continue his life quest by study sabbaticals throughout Asia, North and South America and Europe and was awarded the title Ken Juyo Mukei Bunkazai (Living Prefectural Treasure). He passed the name Yasokichi on to his son in 1988. Works are held in the Imperial Household Collection and Ishikawa Prefectural Museum among many others.

A complete set of the twelve animals of the zodiac by Miyashita Zenji, each enclosed in the original signed wooden box retaining the original Shifuku and Shiori. Sizes vary from 8 up to 16 cm (3 to 6 inches) and all are in excellent condition.
Miyashita Zenji (1939-2012) was born into the family of potter Miyashita Zenju, and graduated the Kyoto Municipal University of Art under Kiyomizu Kyubei and Kusube Yaichi. Starting with the most difficult, he worked from Celadon, which relies on shape and extreme control of firing. He began exhibiting in the annual Nitten exhibitions in 1964, eventually winning eighteen prizes. According to the Sackler, which holds 6 works by him, “ His mature work was a modern embodiment of a classic Kyoto mode associated with the Heian period (794–1185). He applied delicate layers of color—reminiscent of multilayered court robes or decorated papers made for inscribing poetry—using not over-glaze enamels or glazes but clay itself, dyed with mineral pigments”. He is held in the aforementioned Freer-Sackler, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, and the Brooklyn Museum the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and of course the National Museums of Modern Art both in Kyoto and Tokyo among a host of others.

A bold modern form in abstract Picaso gray patterns by Yanagihara Mutsuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Saimon Unkimon Kabin. It is 20 cm diameter 29.5 cm (just under 12 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Yanigahara Mutsuo (b.1934) was raised in Seto, and studied in Kyoto along with contemporary Morino Taimei with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. His work is largely sculptural, and his choice of colors is his reflection on the decadence of Japanese society. A list of exhibitions and awards would be much too long but includes the Japan Ceramics Society Gold prize in 2002. Listed as one of the most influential potters of the 20th century in the Japanese ceramics magazine Honoho Geijutsu, he is held in the Museum of Modern Art, both Tokyo and Kyoto (MOMAT, MOMAK), The National Museum of Art, Osaka, V&A, Great Victoria Art Gallery, Portland and any number of other prominent public and private collections throughout the world. For more see Japanese Studio Crafts, Tradition and the Avant Garde by Rupert Faulkner. According to the V&A his “work is striking for its blend of dynamism, colour and wit. A leading figure among Kyoto artists, Yanagihara has taught at Osaka University of Arts since 1968. Yanagihara's application of brightly coloured abstract motifs to vessel forms with anatomical, sometime sexually explicit features - a combination with which he first experimented in the late 1960s and early 1970s - has been a characteristic of his work for the past fifteen years. As in the case of Morino Taimei, a close friend and exact contemporary at Kyoto City University of Arts in the late 1950s, Yanagihara has been considerably influenced by the experiences he gained during two periods of teaching in the United States in 1966-8 and 1972-4. His use of gold and silver - a wry comment, he has explained, on the decaying values of contemporary society and the corruption of Japan's political system - echoes the extravagant style of certain North American artists.”

Ripples cover the archaic surface of this flattened vessel by Sakata Jinnai enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hakudeisai Hajomon Henko (White Clay Wave Patterned Henko) It is 11 x 23 x 32 cm (4 x 9 x 13 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Sakata Jinnai was born in Tokyo in 1943, and began as an apprentice under the legendary Kamoda Shoji in 1964, establishing his first kiln in 1966. His work was selected for display at the Nihon Dento Kogei Shinsaku Ten (National Traditional New Crafts Exhibition) in 1969, and the following year the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition). In 1971 his work could be seen at the first Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. This event would tour the United States and Canada as well. Two years later he would be seen there again, and this time the show would tour South America. In 1977 he would move away from the competitive world of mass exhibitions and focus more on private galleries. He was the first artist selected for display at the newly opened Takashimaya Gallery in New York in 1993. Work by him is held in the collection of the British Museum, Rockefeller Foundation, Sakuma Museum, Waseda Universty Museum, as well as some of Japans holiest sites such as Ise Shrine, Izumo Shrine, Takachiho Shrine, Yakushiji in Nara and both Kodaiji and Enryakuji Temples in Kyoto. Not limited to clay, he also works in painting, Washi hand made paper (from 1995), and glass (from 2000).

An elegant bowl swept in a Zen circle of ink by Shigemori Yoko, the vessel evidencing several dips in white slip, creating a captivating sensibility which contests the simplicity of the coloration. It is 14 cm diameter, 8 cm tall and in perfect condition, directly from the artist’ family and comes enclosed in a wooden box annotated by her nephew.
Shigemori Yoko (1953-2021) was born in Kagoshima. Yoko came to Kyoto where she initially studied painting at the Kyoto Tankidai Art College, then moved to ceramics at the Kyoto Municipal Art University where she studied traditional pottery techniques under Kondo Yutaka before entering advanced courses under avant-garde Yagi Kazuo, graduating in 1979. Her first solo exhibitions were held while still a student at Gallery Iteza in Kyoto. She eschewed the world of competitive exhibitions in favor of the intimacy of private galleries, and her list of solo exhibitions is expansive. She received the Yagi Kazuo prize in 1986 and 1988 at the Nihon Gendai Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition. She was one of five artists featured in Toh, volume 76, the first issue dedicated to Kyoto potters. Toh was, at the time

Faint crackling permeates the vibrant green glaze on this sake flask by Living National Treasure Nakajima Hiroshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Tokkuri. It is 12.5 cm tall, and in excellent condition.
Nakajima Hiroshi (1941-2018) was born in Hiroshima, and established himself as an independent potter Yano, Saga Prefecture in 1969, choosing to specialize in the challenging field of Celadon ware. That same year he was first accepted into the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition, and in 1977 he would be awarded for the first time at that prestigious venue. In 1981 he was awarded the Prime Ministers prize in the Nishi Nihon Togeiten (West Japan Ceramic Exhibition). This was followed two years later by the most prestigious Japan Ceramics Society award in 1982 (He would be awarded their gold prize in 2006). In 1985 he would travel to China to study pottery and excavate at ancient kiln sites. He was named an intangible cultural asset of Saga prefecture in 1990. After many more he would finally be named a Living National Treasure (Mukei Bunkazai) in 2007, and received the 65th West Japan Order of Cultural Merit.

An early vase by sculptural legend Yanagihara Mutsuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Heki-yu Tetsu-e Kabin. Hekiyu is a glaze made of copper and cobalt, which when fired takes on the color of Lapiz. In this case the Lapiz blue pours down over a tapering base of raw earth decorated with spiraling blades in iron glaze. It is 23.5cm (9 inches) diameter 27.5 cm (11 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Yanigahara Mutsuo (b.1934) was raised in Seto, and studied in Kyoto along with contemporary Morino Taimei with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. His work is largely sculptural, and his choice of colors is his reflection on the decadence of Japanese society. A list of exhibitions and awards would be much too long but includes the Japan Ceramics Society Gold prize in 2002. Listed as one of the most influential potters of the 20th century in the Japanese ceramics magazine Honoho Geijutsu, he is held in the Museum of Modern Art, both Tokyo and Kyoto (MOMAT, MOMAK), The National Museum of Art, Osaka, V&A, Great Victoria Art Gallery, Portland and any number of other prominent public and private collections throughout the world. For more see Japanese Studio Crafts, Tradition and the Avant Garde by Rupert Faulkner. According to the V&A his “work is striking for its blend of dynamism, colour and wit. A leading figure among Kyoto artists, Yanagihara has taught at Osaka University of Arts since 1968. Yanagihara's application of brightly coloured abstract motifs to vessel forms with anatomical, sometime sexually explicit features - a combination with which he first experimented in the late 1960s and early 1970s - has been a characteristic of his work for the past fifteen years. As in the case of Morino Taimei, a close friend and exact contemporary at Kyoto City University of Arts in the late 1950s, Yanagihara has been considerably influenced by the experiences he gained during two periods of teaching in the United States in 1966-8 and 1972-4. His use of gold and silver - a wry comment, he has explained, on the decaying values of contemporary society and the corruption of Japan's political system - echoes the extravagant style of certain North American artists.”

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.

An elegant basin by Fukami Sueharu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seihakuji Sanso Hachi. It is 21 cm (8-1/4 inches) diameter, 8.5 cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Fukami Sueharu is synonymous with seihakuji celadon. Born in Kyoto in 1947, he graduated the Kyoto Ceramics Research School in 1965. It was in 1981 that he was first recognized followed by grand prize at the Chunichi International Ceramics Exhibition the following year. In ’84 he would be awarded at the Nitten National Art Exhibition, and in ’85 received grand prize at the Faenza International Ceramic Exhibition, Italy. He would receive the prestigious JCS award in 1992 and the Order of Cultural Merit for Kyoto soon thereafter. He has been displayed at the Nitten, Nihon Togei Ten (National Japanese Ceramic Exhibition) Chunichi Kokusai Togeiten, and Nihon Gendai Kogei Ten (National Japanese Modern Crafts Exhibition) among many others. In 2011 he was exhibited in the Clark Center, California, and was one of a very few potters to receive the important JCS Gold Award in 2012. His work is held in the National Museums of Modern Art in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, an astounding fact for a living artist. Also Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, Musée Tomo, Museum of Modern Ceramic Art in Gifu, Shiga Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art among other in Japan, and overseas The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Freer/Galleries at the Smithsonian, Yale University Art Gallery, Harvard Art Museum, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, Ackland Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, Everson Museum of Art, Spencer Museum of Art, National Gallery of Australia, The British Museum, The V&A, Sevres Musée national de céramique, Faenze Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Museum of contemporary Art, Belgrade and Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires among many others. For more information on this artist a quick web-search, or a look at the article highlighting his life in the March 2005 edition of Orientations Magazine will be enlightening.

A tall covered box of coiled clay by Kyoto Legend Miyashita Zenji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Ransaihako. The box has been created with spaghetti like strands of pure white clay compressed together and splashed with a waterfall of blue glaze. A rare and interesting work by this artist, it is 12.5 x 12.5 x 27 cm (5 x 5 x 11 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Miyashita Zenji (1939-2012) was born into the family of potter Miyashita Zenju, and graduated the Kyoto Municipal University of Art under Kiyomizu Kyubei and Kusube Yaichi. Starting with the most difficult, he worked from Celadon, which relies on shape and extreme control of firing. He began exhibiting in the annual Nitten exhibitions in 1964, eventually winning eighteen prizes. According to the Sackler, which holds 6 works by him, “ His mature work was a modern embodiment of a classic Kyoto mode associated with the Heian period (794–1185). He applied delicate layers of color—reminiscent of multilayered court robes or decorated papers made for inscribing poetry—using not over-glaze enamels or glazes but clay itself, dyed with mineral pigments”. He is held in the aforementioned Freer-Sackler, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, and the Brooklyn Museum the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and of course The National Museums of Modern Art both in Kyoto and Tokyo among a host of others.

A large bottle shape reminiscent of Funadokuri (Ships flasks) by Tokoname Legend Osako Mikio enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Tokoname-gama Tsubo shown at the 1997 memorial exhibition held at the Tokoname Ceramics research facility and published on page 7 of the catalog (included). It is 30.5 cm (I foot) in diameter, 39.5 cm (just under 16 inches) tall and in perfect contition.
Due to size this may require special shipping consideration depending upon destination.
Osako Mikio (1940-1995), born in Usa Oita prefecture on the Island of Kyushu, arrived at ceramics late in life, starting to study with Ezaki Issei at the Tokonmane ceramic Research Center in 1968 and staying with his teacher until he built his first kiln in 1982.. He received Grand Prize at the International Biennial of Ceramics in Vallauris, France in 1972. Known for his yakishime and ash glazed pottery, His profound understanding of wood firing, post firing and pottery in general was exceptional and his forms and surfaces are mature beyond his years of experience. A fitting quote by Dr. Frederick Baekeland from the catalogue; Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections, sums up the true nature of the potter and his pots; “The strong, conventional potting and rich sobriety of Osako’s ceramics appeal to modern taste and accords well with the aesthetic canons of the tea ceremony.”