Catalog: Artists (942)

A large tsubo in gold and white slip by Miyashita Hideko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Haku-a Kaki Rin to Shite Yo. The title speaks of standing up alone, and the artist told me it was a piece she created when she came to terms with the grief of her husband passing away and had decided to make a fresh go of life. The form was influenced by ancient Chinese maternal sculptures, thus the forward, broad stance. An image of one of the sculptures can be seen on a ticket stub from the museum exhibition which will be included. This was exhibited in 2016 at the Kyoto Kogei Bijutsu Sakka Kyokai Ten (Kyoto Society of Artist and Craftsperson Exhibition) and published in the catalog for that event. It is 11 x 14 x 19 inches (28 x 35.5 x 48 cm) and is in perfect condition.
Miyashita Hideko was born in Tatsuno, Hyogo prefecture in 1944. She graduated the Kyoto Municipal University of Arts in 1967, her final project garnering the Tomimoto Prize, and that year she was accepted into the Kyoto Prefectural Art Exhibition as well as the Kyoten. In honorable Japanese fashion she put her career second to that of her husband, the famed Miyashita Zenji, but remained active in the ceramics world through crafts during her long marriage. In 1978 she was awarded at the WCC Craft Competition, and her subsequent list of awards and shows in impressive, with solo exhibitions at some of Japan’s top galleries and participation in the Asahi Modern Craft Exhibition, Asahi Togeiten Ceramics Exhibition and the National Ceramics Exhib9tion (Nihon Togeiten). After the passing of her husband in 2012 she has been reinvigorated to work, creating more large scale and sculptural works which are grabbing attention.

A huge museum quality pottery vase by Konishi Yohei (b.1941) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Tokoname Sen-Jomon Tsubo. The vase is 17-1/2 inches (45 cm) tall, roughly the same diameter and weighs 14 kg (30 lbs). It is in excellent condition, dating circa 1990. Yohei was born the son of Konishi Yusen in Tokoname city, graduating the Tokoname Ceramics institute in 1959. He was first accepted into the Modern Japan Ceramics Exhibition (Gendai Togeiten) in 1960 and has since racked up a tremendous list of exhibitions. Those include the Nitten, Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition) and Asahi Togei Ceramics Exhibition. Also the Nihon Mingei Ten, Sanki-Kai Ten(prized), Issui-Kai Ten and Chunichi Kokusai Togei Ten (prized). Barollis French International Exhibition (silver prize). Shipping will be considered separately due to size.

An iconic large tea bowl by Mino legend Kawamoto Goro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Haiyu Chawan. It is 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 9 cm tall and in excellent condition. Kawamoto Goro (1919-1986) was born in Seto to a family of potters. He studied in Kyoto at the same institution as Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji. Returning to work at the family kiln, he was later adopted by Kawamoto Rekitei, a famous decorator of pottery. In 1953 he gained first recognition, accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition and garnering top prize at the Asahi Modern Ceramics Exhibition. In 1958 he would be awarded in Brussels, and in 1959 in California and at home was granted the 1959 JCS award. Much lauded the list is much too long for this article. work by him is held in the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art as well as the The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo among many others.

Brisk inky swirls have been struck into the milky white sides of this large bowl titled San-nin-mawashi Chawan (Teabowl for 3) by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a signed wooden box. As would be expected of this artist, the work is spontaneous and energetic with no sense of caution or hesitation. The base is thick and solid, the entirety exuding a sense of confidence and strength. It is 15 cm (6 inches) diameter, 11.5 cm (4-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition, the box annotated by her nephew. In some traditions tea was made in a large bowl and passed from hand to hand, each person taking a sip. A bit like passing the mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving…
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 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. She was one of five artists featured in Toh, volume 76, The first issue dedicated to Kyoto Potters. Toh was at the time the most in depth survey of important contemporary potters published in 1993. Her work is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

A rock textured Kurinuki tokkuri compliments this guinomi selected to match by Inayoshi Osamu enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The Tokkuri is 5 inches (12 cm) tall, the Guinomi 2-3/4 inches (7 cm) diameter and both are in perfect condition, enclosed in the original wooden box from the artist this summer.
Inayoshi Osamu was born in Aichi prefecture, the heart of Mino country, in 1976. He completed his initial training in the plastic arts at the Seto Pottery School in 2002, garnering an award that same year at the 56th Seto City Art Exhibition. In 2007 he established his own kiln in Toyohashi, and was awarded at the 19th Heart of Oribe Pottery exhibition (again the following year). In 2008 he began to focus on the Atsumi pottery of the Heian and Kamakura periods, building up a unique repertoire. After several more domestic shows and prizes, he had his overseas debut in 2010, and has since received a great deal of attention both at home and abroad.

A Pottery pouch covered in polka-dot silver glaze inspired by traditional textiles by pioneering female artist Tsuboi Asuka threaded with genuine silver couched chord and enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 11 cm (4-1/4 inches) tall 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.

Glass flows over the surface of this volcanic structure by Hashimoto Tomonari, a powerful ceramic sculpture accompanied by the original signed wooden placard. It is 25 cm (10 inches) diameter, 16 cm (6-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist. One of only a few glass works he has released to the public.
Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is making international waves around the world. Work by him is held in the V&A in London, LACMA and a large sculpture has recently been installed in his home prefecture of Wakayama.

A half hemisphere in moon tones by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The color palette is sedate, with rusted orange clouds tinged with gaseous blue washing across the lunar surface. It is 25.5 cm (10 inches) diameter, 12.5 cm (5 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist. After hand forming and sculpting the shapes, they are bisque fired, then glazed and fired again at a relatively low temperature (Between 1000 and 1100 degrees, like Raku ware). Then he builds a brick oven around each piece and brings the temperature up to 500 degrees, and adds millet or rice husk, which carbonizes the surface, creating incredible colors and random patterns leaving the viewer with a feeling like rusted or heated metal. Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is making international waves around the world. Work by him is held in the V&A in London, LACMA and a large sculpture has recently been installed in his home prefecture of Wakayama.

A gossamer work by the demanding young female artist Lu Xueyun enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Breeze 2019-III. The vessel is made up of married sheets of thin porcelain, so thin in fact that light passes easily through it. Her works are truly exquisite, captivating in their frailty. I have been following the diaphanous works of Lu (known in Japan by the Japanese reading of her name, Ro-san) for nearly 5 years and waiting for the opportunity to introduce her to the outer world. This is 20 x 18.5 x 12 cm (12 x 7-1/2 x 5 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist
Lu Xueyun was born in Chongqing, China in 1987 and graduated the SiChuan International Studies University in 2010, before taking a position in a Chinese company overseas division. Unsatisfied with corporate life, she enrolled in the Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto, Ceramics Course graduating in 2019, then did two years study at the Ishoken Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center. While there she took part in several juried and group exhibitions, but this is the first time her works have been shown to an international audience.

A lot of drama in this crispy glazed tsubo deeply scored by the artists fingers, the trailing divets filled with running ash glaze by Murakoshi Takuma, two deep punctures in the side where it sank into the kiln supports, and a large artist performed gold repair where it had adhered to the kiln floor. The gold glimmers from the darkest part of the vessel, where it was charred black from laying in the embers. The fingerlets of flowing ash all circle the body, seeming to point out the flaw, accentuating the character. So raw, it speaks of another world, untamed. It is 37 cm (14-1/2 inches) tall, 33 cm (13 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. It comes with a wooden placard signed by the artist and titled Yakishime Hakkin-sai Otsubo (Unglazed Lage Tsubo with Gold).
Murakoshi Takuma is one of those enigmas who simply lives to work with clay. He does not seek to make a living through pottery, but through his primal approach has earned a following which keeps his work in high demand. He was born in Aichi prefecture in 1954 and began his stroll down the pottery path in 1980 under the tutelage of Kyoto potter Umehara Takehira. Favoring very rough Shigaraki glaze, he established his own kiln in 1997 in the Kiyomizu pottery district of Kyoto, then moved to Nagaoka in 2002. Although eschewing the world of competitive exhibitions, he has been picked up by many of Japan’s preeminent galleries, including private exhibitions at the prestigious Kuroda Toen of Tokyo’s Ginza District.

Dripping with gold, this artist really takes things to the extreme, challenging and yet incorporating something of the idea of Wabi into his outlandish works. Here is an exceptional (and rare) large tsubo by Ichikawa Toru enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It features a surface of raised white bumps like ray or sharkskin. The form is rough, more a natural growth than some plotted design. Brilliant gold flows over the textured white. It is quite overpowering, and would become central to any contemporary ceramic collection. The tsubo is 31 cm (12 inches) tall, 27 cm (10-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Ichikawa Toru was born in Tokyo in 1973. In 2015 he established his current studio in Bizen after 4 years of apprenticeship under another Bizen Outsider, Kakurezaki Ryuichi. He has since developed quite a following, with his shows selling out often within hours.

Silver ray-skin texture covers this fabulous Katakuchi sake pot by Ichikawa Toru enclosed in the original signed wooden box. OMG a chilled Daiginjo served with this would have to taste like a million bucks! Like a footed softball, it is 12 cm (4-3/4 inches) diameter, ever so slightly shorter although it appears to be taller than it is wide.
One of my favorite artists, the innovative Ichikawa Toru was born in Tokyo in 1973. In 2015 he established his current studio in Bizen after 4 years of apprenticeship under another Bizen Outsider, Kakurezaki Ryuichi. He has since developed quite a following, with his shows selling out often within hours.

A twisting black form covered in layers of petals by Yamaguchi Mio enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Idol. It is 10.5 x 16 x 35 cm (4 x 6 x 14 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. The box will be ordered and signed upon purchase.
Yamaguchi Mio was born in Aichi prefecture in 1992, and graduated advanced studies at the Aichi University of Education in 2017. While still at university, her works were selected for show at the JoryuTogei Ten Female Ceramic Artist Association Exhibition (2014). In 2016 she was awarded at the 3rd Kogei in Kanazawa Competition, Grand Prize at the Ceramic Art in the Present Tense Exhibition at the Hagi Uragami Museum as well received the governors prize at the 5oth Female Ceramic Artist Association Exhibition. In 2017 she was selected for the 11International Ceramics Competition in Mino. She took a job as a teacher, but could not fight the need to create, so enrolled in the Tajimi City Ceramics research facility, graduating in2020. Her work is currently on view in the Chicago Institute of Arts, and was featured on the cover of the catalog for that exhibition, Radical Clay.
According to Mio: I feel that my fascination towards the natural world’s use of repetition, in bee hives and on the surface of corals, appears in my work as I consume and absorb the world around me. I like to believe that these works are natural forms made by my own hands. When I mold clay, I have a sensation that my body and consciousness blends and binds with the material and the natural world. The process of building upon each coil and applying each fold one by one with my hands is a form of meditation. Through this repetitive process I want to be able to convey my thoughts at the time in the texture, such as my struggle of swaying between the desires to live freely and falling under the pressure from societal expectations. It calms me down to observe the fingerprints left in the surface and see the traces of my existence in the clay. These works are products of what I have absorbed around me.

A matte-glazed sculptural stoneware form by contemporary female artist Tanaka Yu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Tsutusmi-mono 2020. The piece is made to look like a cloth sack. It is an unusual lavender color, quite pleasing and no one can resist touching it. The sculpture is 20 x 12 x 21 cm (Roughly 5 x 8 x 8 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Tanaka Yu was born in 1989, and graduated the Kyoto Saga University of Arts in 2013. Like many other of the younger generation of artists, she tends toward smaller venues than the large affiliated shows. She first garnered attention in Japan being awarded at the 49th Women's Association of Ceramic Art, Grand Prize (Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art) in 2015. This year she was one of six finalists featured at the prestigious Paramita Museum Grand Prize Ceramic Exhibition. Her work has been presented in galleries around the world.

A gorgeous Mimitsuki handled vase with flaring rim covered in in running ash glaze and encrustations of dark embers by Tanimoto Yo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Hana-ire. It is 26 cm (10-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. This is a superb example of the traditional Momoyama aesthetic.
Born in 1958 the son of Iga potter Tanimoto Kosei, Yo was raised among the kilns and has always had his hands in clay. He first began exhibiting in 1982, and in 1984 moved to Europe where he studied oil painting and sculpture (in Spain), and set up a pottery studio outside Paris. After returning to Japan he set up his own studio in 1988, working both in Japan and and Spain. Since his works have been exhibited widely, both domestically and abroad in New York, London, Barcelona and Paris.

A spectacular pottery sculpture of the Okoze (Scorpion Fish) by Kimura Gyokushu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Bizen Okoze. It is 27 x 18.5 x 9 cm (11 x 7-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Kimra Gyokushu was born the eldest son of the 16th generation Kimura Munetoku in 1953. He graduated from Nagoya University of Arts in 1976, then went on to be awarded the Okayama Mayor's Award at the Okayama Prefectural Exhibition that same year. In 1978 he was selected for the 10th Nitten National Exhibition, subsequently exhibiting there more than 30 times; and his work was again awarded at the Okayama Prefectural exhibition. He succeeded in his research and creation of white Bizen in 1995, and was selected for Shigaraki Ceramics Exhibition. He became a lecturer at Kobe Women's University Seto Junior College from 2001, and from 2003 served as a juror at the Okayama Prefectural Exhibition. In 2009 he was made vice president of the Japan Ceramic Sculpture Association. He accepted a position as lecturer at Okayama Prefectural University in 2013.

A fabulous large Mizusashi with a rugged, natural shape covered in cool blue and gray by Hagi icon Kaneta Masanao enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hagi Hai-Kaburi Kurinuki Mizusashi. It is roughly 18.5 cm (7-1/4 inches) tall, 26.5 cm (10-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition, complete with the artists shiori and shifuku.
Kaneta Masanao likely needs no introduction, certainly one of Hagi’s most well-known and easily identifiable names. Although an eighth-generation potter inheriting an overtly conservative tradition, he has transcended limitations, and was one of the first to begin carrying Hagi into the 21st century. His work evokes a distinct tension between both function and form, and technique and tradition. he has been displayed both nationally and internationally innumerable times. His pieces are in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum and Museum of Modern Art Brooklyn. He has been displayed at the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten and Nihon Togei Ten among many many others.

An unusual cubic work by Hashimoto Tomonari in which he has altered his normal process to allow a powerful crusted texture to form on the work. Oxidized in shades of blue and rusty orange. It is 30 x 34 x 33.5 cm (12 x 13-1/2 x 13-1/2 inches) and in excellent condition, directly from the artist accompanied by a signed wooden placard.
Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is making international waves around the world. Work by him is held in the V&A in London, LACMA and a large sculpture has recently been installed in his home prefecture of Wakayama.

The abraded and torn red-tinged Iga clay fills with green glaze in a climbing spiral pattern forming this Tokkuri by Atarashi Kanji enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
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 Manabu.

Mukoyama Fumiya enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Zogan Yusai Fusha-mon Tsubo (Color Inlayed Wind Mill Pattern Tsubo). It is 25 cm (10 inches) diameter, 22 cm (8-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Mukoyama Fumiya was born in Tokyo in 1960, graduating the Kyoto Ceramic Research institute before apprenticing in Hagi under 15th generation Sakakura Shinbei in 1984. He spent time in Shiga before settling in Mashiko in 1990, establishing his own kiln in 1993. The following year his work was collected by the Imperial Household Agency. He has been exhibited and or awarded at the National Craft Exhibition, National Traditional New Craft Exhibition, and Mashiko Pottery Exhibition among others.

Who says the work of a woman potter is feminine? This is a powerful Iga work by Watanabe Aiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box. There is nothing sedate about this work, charred and dripping with glassy green glaze, freckled with flying ash; the heavy lug handles jutting from the side slightly off kilter. The vessel is 7 inches (17 cm) tall, roughly the same diameter and in excellent condition.
Aiko established her first Anagama kiln in Shigaraki in 1994, and moved to Iga in 2001 where she built her second kiln. That was a big year of change for her, and she held her first of many private exhibitions in Shibuya, Tokyo, including one just finished at Kuroda Toen. Always building in 2003 she began planning her third Anagama kiln, which was first fired in 2005. A promising young artist still affordable, but with recent media attention that condition may not last.

A spectacular Oni Karatsu Vase by Inoue Toya of the Kyozan Kiln enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 10 inches (25 cm) tall 6 inches (16 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Inoue Toya (1942-2013), graduated the prestigious Nihon Daigaku in 1966, having spent his student years excavating ancient Karatsu shards and researching their techniques. He apprenticed under the multifaceted potter Nushi Ensai. In 1969 he opened his own kiln. He served as head of the Karatsu Ceramic Cooperative from 1983-2010 while focusing on private exhibitions held at Department stores and galleries throughout Japan. In 2008 his lifetime achievements were recognized with a private exhibition in Los Angeles.

An exquisite vessel in white with elegant stripes of soft color by hard to find Niwa Ryochi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Senmon Tsubo. There is a palpable grace to the piece which seems to reflect the Japanese appreciation of silence and shadows. It is 27.5 cm (11 inches) diameter, 33 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Hirashimizu-yaki started when the Lord Niwa Jizaemon, invited Tojihei Ono, a potter from Ibaraki, to make pottery using clay from Chitoseyama during the Bunka era of the late Edo period. There are four kilns in operation today. During the Bunsei era (1818-1829) Abe Kakuzaemon of the Soma clan visited here, built a kiln, and spread the techniques of Soma-yaki pottery, which contributed to Hirashimizu becoming a large pottery-producing area. During the middle of the Meiji period (late 19th century) when the area was enjoying its most prosperous time, over 30 kilns were in operation. Today only 4 exist. Niwa Ryochi was born in Yamagata in 1931. In 1946 he entered apprenticeship at the Ryusen kiln, and due to circumstance, became 4th head of the kiln in 1950. He has exhibited at the Kofu-Kai, and Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts exhibition as well as at many of Japans top galleries.

A white porcelain vessel by Sakurai Yasuko permeated with holes in a style typical of her work. It is 16 cm diameter, 8 cm tall and in excellent condition enclosed in a paper box. According to the Met: Sakurai Yasuko first studied ceramics in Kyoto, before becoming an artist in residence in Shigaraki, and then in Limoges, France. She makes perforated, unglazed, white porcelain forms that are studies in light and shadow. These forms are created around bundles of mold-cast porcelain tubes and then connected by clay and slip.
The artist is known for her challenge of light and dark, and this sculpture with its play through holes is a quintessential example of this, the light and dark accenting each other through the patterns cut into the body. Her work is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Shiga Prefectural Togei no Mori Museum, the International Ceramics Museum in Florence, the Paramita Museum, among many others. For more see Touch Fire, Contemporary Japanese Ceramics by Women Artists, 2009.

I have long wanted to offer a significant piece by this artist, and here is a spectacular Nezumi Shino pair of vases by Wakao Toshisada enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Red tinged white waves boil over the Nezumi-gray arc of the base, a white waxing moon floating above. They measure 9 x 3-1/2 x 12-1/2 and 8-1/2 x 3-1/2 x 10-1/2 inches (23 x 9 x 32 cm and 21.5 x 9 x 27 cm) respectively and are in perfect condition.
Toshisada was born in Tajimi, Gifu prefecture, home of Mino pottery, in 1933. He was first recognized at the New Crafts exhibition of 1960, the same year he was first exhibited at the Central Japan Art Exhibition. Three years laer he made his debut at the Asahi Ceramics Exhibition, following in 1965 with the National Traditional Crafts Exhibition. In 1971 he first exhibited with the Nihon Togeiten (All Japan Ceramics Exhibition) and was awarded the following year the New Mino Artists Prize, gathering acclaim as a leader in the field. After many domestic and International exhibits, he was awarded the Kato Kohei prize in 1986. and was recipient of the prestigious Japan Ceramics Society (JCS) Award in 1989. He was named an intangible cultural asset of Tajimi city in 1995, and of Gifu Prefecture in 2003, and works by the artist are held in the Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, V&A, Freer Gallery and Sackler among many others.

A very unusual work by the challenging artist Nakata Atsushi covered in red lacquer with modern designs enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled URUSHI TEA BOWL. It is 11.5 x 13.5 x 9.5 cm (4-1/2 x 5-1/4 x 3-3/4 inches) and is in New condition.
Nakata Atsushi was born in Toyama in 1968, and studied in the blossoming field of videography at Osaka University of Art however chose the path of potter after working at a friends kiln while at school. He graduated in 1992, then apprenticed under Imai Yasuhito famed for his tea ware. In 1996 Atsushi set out on his own in Ueno City, Mie prefecture (the center of Iga ware). He uses lacquer in most of his works, which requires typically three firings, and his work is characterized by its contemporary design and utilitarian forms.

Graffito scrawls through the silver lining of this fine Chawan by Morino Taimei enclosed in the original signed wooden box. A single dark spot, like a phpotograhic negative of the full moon reflected in water. Outside a wavering line about the foot. The bowl is 12.5 cm diameter, 7.5 cm tall and in perfect condition.
Taimei was born in Kyoto in 1934, and was first accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition at a relatively young age in 1957 (a year before graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Fine Art!). In 1960 he received the prestigious Hokutosho prize at the same National Exhibition. In the early 60s he worked as a guest professor at the University of Chicago. Upon his return to Japan his career began to lift off with a second Hokutosho Prize at the Nitten, followed by The governors prize and others at the Gendai Kogei Ten (Modern National Crafts Exhibition). He was subsequently selected for display at the Kyoto and Tokyo National Museums in 1972 and was accepted into the first Nihon Togei Ten that same year. Since his list of exhibitions and prizes has continued to grow, with subsequent selections in the Tokyo and Kyoto museums of Art, as well as exhibitions in Paris, Italy, America, Canada, Denmark and others. In 2007 he received the Japan Art Academy Prize, an award to a work of art similar in weight to the bestowing of Living National Treasure to an artist. This puts the artist in a small club, rare and important. For more information on the artist see Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Fired with Passion by (Lurie/Chan, 2006) or the recent exhibition of works titled Generosity in Clay from the Natalie Fitz-gerald Collection.

An elegant porcelain incense burner of draped form by porcelain master Kubota Yasuyoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seihakuji Ryusen -mon Koro. It is 15.5 cm (6 inches) to the top of the finial and is in excellent condition.
Kubota Yasuyoshi was born in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto on the Southern Island of Kyushu in 1952. He was awarded top prize at the Yamaguchi Ceramics Exhibition in 1982, and since has been awarded at the National Ceramics Exhibition as well as the National Traditional Crafts Exhibition among many others.

An incense burner in white porcelain clay by Morino Taimei (Hiroaki) with silver lid of overlapping butterflies signed Sozo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hakuji Koro. It is 3-3/4 inches (9.5 cm) diameter, and in excellent condition. Koro by this artist are extremely rare.
Morino Taimei was born in Kyoto in 1934, and was first accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition at a relatively young age in 1957 (a year before graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Fine Art!). In 1960 he received the prestigious Hokutosho prize at the same National Exhibition. In the early 60s he worked as a guest professor at the University of Chicago. Upon his return to Japan his career began to lift off with a second Hokutosho Prize at the Nitten, followed by The governors prize and others at the Gendai Kogei Ten (Modern National Crafts Exhibition). He was subsequently selected for display at the Kyoto and Tokyo National Museums in 1972 and was accepted into the first Nihon Togei Ten that same year. Since his list of exhibitions and prizes has continued to grow, with subsequent selections in the Tokyo and Kyoto museums of Art, as well as exhibitions in Paris, Italy, America, Canada, Denmark and others. In 2007 he received the Japan Art Academy Prize, an award to a work of art similar in weight to the bestowing of Living National Treasure to an artist. This puts the artist in a small club, rare and important. For more information on the artist see Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Fired with Passion by (Lurie/Chan, 2006) or the recent exhibition of works titled Generosity in Clay from the Natalie Fitzgerald Collection.

A colorful pair of hips by Matsuda Yuriko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kinsai Aka-e Shiri -Goo- (Red and Gold Decorated Porcelain Buttocks, -Goo-. It was exhibited at the Ilmin Museum of Art exhibition: “Its Horizontal Its Vertical” in Seoul South Korea in 1997 and retains the original artist made stand as well as the exhibition pamphlet. The piece is 43 x 32.5 x 14 cm (17 x 13 x 5-1/2 inches) excluding the stand, and is in excellent condition.
Matsuda Yuriko was born in Ashiya, Hyōgō Prefecture in 1943nd lives and works in Oshino, Yamanashi Prefecture. Yuriko is an avid exhibitor; it is a wonder she has time to do any work at all. Both within Japan (Nihon Togei Ten, Gendai Togei Ten etc.) and without she has an impressive list of exhibitions in a host of countries. She received the Yagi Kazuo prize in 1986 among many others. According to the book “Touch Fire”, Many of the women artists included in this exhibition are independent innovators who work outside the constraints of Japanese ceramic traditions. However, several of the artists, including Matsuda Yuriko, continue to use traditional techniques with skills that rival, if not exceed, those of their predecessors, and in doing so they create new and challenging contemporary ceramic Sytg art. They reinterpret the traditional decorative technique for porcelain vessels, called iro-e over-glaze enameling, and transposes its motifs onto nonfunctional objects. Her beautifully enameled iro-e porcelain sculptures are witty odes to two favorite subjects: the female body and Mount Fuji. For more information on this artist and examples of her work see the books Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Fired with Passion by Beatrice Chang and Samuel Lurie. Also see Contemporary Clay, Japanese Ceramics for the New Century based on the Museum of Fine Arts Boston exhibition or Soaring Voices, Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists (2010).

A cylinder has been removed from this cylindrical vase, quite a striking shape by Furutani Taketoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Ohen Ichirin Hanaire. The hollow created has filled with a heavy deposit of ash with fingers of color reaching out from the dark interior wrapping around the vessel to the red eyelets. The top too is heavily coated in glistening molten ash in grays and greens, olives and ochers. It is 12.5 cm (5 inches) diameter, 21 cm (just over 8 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 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.

An unusual lidded vessel in the shape of a clay pitcher beautifully patterned with natural ash glazes by Furutani Churoku I enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-Yu Dobin Hanaire. This looks like something drawn from a literati painting, a scholar seated with his brushes and ink beside a table upon which tea cools, the tall pot promising refreshment. The glaze lies heaviest between the handle and spout, dribbling down into the ember blackened ash deposits below, while opposite Tombo-no-me (dragonfly-eyes) permeate the red clay surface. The receptacle is 27 cm (11 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the family.
Furutani Hiromu (Churoku I, 1922-2012) Fascinated by the aesthetics of "wabi" and "sabi" expressed in the “Koge” (Charing),“Hi-iro”(Flame Color) and other naturally born kiln effects of Shigaraki ware, Furutani Hiromu devoted himself to the recovery of pre-Edo firing techniques. He was on the forefront of research into ancient kiln construction and he recreated both an Anagama and then a climbing kiln which could produce wares to rival the ancients. In the manner of craftsmen of time immemorial, he produced both Tsubo and Tea Ware. He was the first artist named a Dento Kogeishi (Traditional Craftsman) in Shigaraki, accepting that honor in 1976. After that his works were exhibited throughout Japan, as well as internationally. Breaking from tradition however, he also worked to create carved and modeled pieces with animated creatures writhing across the surfaces or arching to form handles.

A trumpeting vessel, the closed top split open dripping with thick Oribe copper glaze and iron patterns by Tanahashi Jun enclosed in the original signed wooden box. it is 18.5 cm (7-1/4 inches) diameter, 16.5 (6-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Tanahashi Jun was born in Gifu prefecture in 1959. He established his kiln in Seto in 1990, and has exhibited with the Nitten, and awarded at the Nihon Shin Kogei Ten (New Crafts Exhibition) as well as the Asahi Togeiten Ceramics Exhibition and been collected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Flying goma ash dusts the ribbon scalloped sides of this large Bizen vase by Matsumoto Katsuya enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The piece is 12 inches (31 cm) tall, 11 inches (28 cm) wide and in excellent condition. Born in neighboring Hyogo prefecture in 1942, at the age of 29 Katsuya apprenticed under Fujiwara Yu. He opened his own kiln in 1976. In 1982 he debuted at the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition) and has consistently been exhibited there since, followed by both the Chunichi International Ceramics Exhibition and the Asahi Ceramics Exhibition, as well as the National Japanese Ceramics Exhibition.

A ceramic box by Nishibata Daibi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Senmon Tobako and exhibited at the 53rd Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition. This piece was awarded at the prestigious event. It is 11 x 11 x 4-1/2 inches (28 x 28 x 11.5 cm) and is in fine condition. Nishibata Daibi was born in Tachikui Village, Hyogu in 1976. After graduating the Law Department of Kyoto University, one of the countries most formidable schools, in 1999, the promising young lawyer moved to complete a ceramics course at the prefectural vocational school, and then a stint at the Municipal Industrial Research Institute (Like many of the greats before him, Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji etc). His first solo exhibition was held at Kuroda Toen in Ginza, quite a feat for a young artist. In 2005 he first exhibited with the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition. The following year, in addition to that venue, he was exhibited at the Chanoyu Zokei Ten a (Modern Forms in Tea). While his works were popular in private Department store exhibits, he continued with these two jurried fairs, but tragically died of heart failure at the very young age of 34 in 2010. The number of works by this artist are very few and difficult to find.

There is an understated elegance in the work of Saito Hiroyuki which is very difficult to describe, but blatantly apparent the moment one holds his work. This guinomi is expertly crafted, rough textured outside with a smooth rim leading to the dark inner “Ma” (emptiness), ready to be filled. It is 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter, 5 cm (2 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Although I would love to offer a plethora of his work, we will have to wait until our next trip to Kyushu, as Hiroyuki is now concentrating, according to his own personal policy, on the very local populace, with whom he can develop a personal relationship, and know through direct feedback that his creations are rewarding to the end user.
Saito Hiroyuki was born in Kumamoto on the Southern Island of Kyushu in 1978. He came to ceramics after 30, having worked in industry and as a florist. In his late 20 he began to ask, what is a lifelong career? A stylish fellow, he was profoundly affected by the simplicity and style of German born Hans Coper. But it was not necessarily the connections to history and a specific tradition, but the ability to express one’s unique character through clay which drew him toward the potters fold. Around 30 he had a brush with death, and in the ICU decided should he survive, he would dedicate the remainder of his life to expressing himself in earth. Survive he did, and initially he was self-taught, eschewing the practice of apprenticeship while exploring his own new path. In 2013 he entered the Gen-gama under Furumori Gen, taking over the running of the kiln the following year. In 2018 he remodeled, setting up a group studio now shared by several artists working in various mediums.

A secret technique is used to induce the wide cracking which does not penetrate the sides of this Tsubo wrapped in fingers of natural ash glaze by Furutani Taketoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Yabure Tsubo. Green ash viciously assaults one side, the color spreading out over the surface, overshadowing the darkness where it was buried in the embers, and wraps around the body in streaks of color leading to shell impressed eyelets on a surface burnt orange and black. It culminates in a single crystalline bead of green glass. The tsubo is 27 cm (11 inches) diameter, 32.5 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 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.

A fabulous wavering form accentuates the fissured ice-like glaze of celadon master Uraguchi Masayuki enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seiji Kokusho Mizusashi. The black lacquered lid is like a dark pool in the middle of the flaring body. The sleek shape is very much his own, and the deeply crackled glazes he employs have been developed over a lifetime of experimentation. His success rate with pieces like this does not exceed 30 percent, making them quite rare and difficult to acquire. This is 22.5 cm (9 inches) diameter, 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Uraguchi Masayuki (b. 1964) discovered pottery while attending the Tokyo National University of Fine Art and Music and his world turned when he was introduced to a Song Dynasty Seiji Vase" at the Tokyo National Museum designated a National Treasure during one of his art courses. After graduation he met (and studied under) living National Treasure for celadon Miura Koheiji at the Tokyo University of Art. Inspired by the Southern Song celadons as well as the work of Japanese master ceramists Itaya Hazan and Okabe Mineo, Uraguchi spent years personally researching his own celadon glazes and clay bodies types. He finished his post graduate program in 1989, claiming a prize that same year at the National Traditional Arts and Crafts New Works Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogei Shinsakuten). The following year he would b awarded at the Nitten National Exhibition. In 1991 he established his kiln in Tochigi prefecture. He has since received innumerable awards, including the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition, Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition (Nihon Togeiten) among many others. In 1995 he travelled to China to study first-hand the Song guan and Longquan ceramics. In 2001 he moved his Kiln to Hachigocho, Ibaraki Prefecture

There is something deeply elegant and feminine about the work of the female Maki-e artist Arai Etsuko, clearly evident here in this glass sake set decorated with olives in colored lacquer and precious gold powder enclosed in a compartmentalized and signed wooden box. Inside, the simple black silhouette, outside, various shades of green connected by gold branches from which hang fruit in various stages of ripeness. The Tokkuri is 17 cm (6-3/4 inches) tall, the cups 5 cm (2 inches) diameter. All are in new condition, directly from the artist this year.
Arai Etsuko (born in Kanagawa in 1980) apprenticed under Hiroshi Okada after Graduating the Kyoto School of Traditional Arts in 2003. For seven years she learned the arts of maki-e and kanshitsu, nunobari and inlay, working both on new pieces, as well as in the restoration of antique items, giving her a deep understanding of the various processes of lacquer over the centuries. In 2010 she moved out on her own. Her work is characterized by the exquisite mixture of traditional lacquer ware manufacturing methods and the delicate and gentle style unique to a woman. Her work has been exhibited at various venues throughout Japan, including the Asahi Craft exhibition and Kyoten. She was designated a Traditional Craftsperson (Dento Kogeishi)of Kyoto in 2014, Nationally in 2015. In a recent conversation She said she was drawn to the world of Lacquer by its glitter and sheen. Unlike drawing or pottery, the creation of lacquer art has no immediate sense of gratification, the imagery is brought out through layers over weeks or months, often invisible until the final stages. A most demanding medium, patience and diligence are paramount, but the result is unlike any other artform, and with proper care, can be passed through the generations, an heirloom to span the centuries.

Matte colors in olive and silver coat the fiddle head fronds sprouting from this clump of clay studded with mysterious orbs by Masatomo Toi from his germination series of ceramic sculptures. The treatment of the rising horns is unusual in this piece, ordinarily more direct and threatening, these appear to be shy. The sculpture is 39 cm (15-1/2 inches) tall, 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
(The price includes professional packaging and shipping by private air freight to Western Europe, North America and Oceania. For other regions please inquire.)
The germination series is a true window into this artists soul. They are his representation of the power of the life cycle paired with our human frailties and strengths. He begins by forming the thorns, orbs and sabers which stud the work. These are bisk fired, then glazed and fired again. They are then embedded into the clod, and bisk fired again after drying. Glazed, they are once again fired at high temperature. Despite efforts and calculations, weight and temperature and oxidation cause unexpected changes, the tendrils bend and move with the heat waves, the clay clod can crack or disintegrate. The survivors are cooled, and then aged. When he is ready, he applies the gold and silver and Platinum and other metals, and they are once again fired, and again some fall to the wayside, unable to withstand the temperatures. Sometimes unexpected alterations occur, and other pieces do not make it through or break. Some of these can be repaired and fired again. According to Toi the sculptures are like us humans: Like our lives, we get damaged, scarred, and sometimes we can be mended. We bend with time and weight, and my works are the same. And yet we survive, altered by the experiences. There is no shame in it.
Masatomo Toi was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1992, and graduated the Design course at the Tajimi Ceramics Research Facility in 2019. Since he has been developing his series of “Thorny” vessels and objects. At the same time he has been studying the way of tea and other traditional arts such as flower arrangement, and his use of negative space is masterful. His works have been featured in a number of group and juried exhibitions. He will soon depart Japan for a year of study and experimentation abroad, and we expect great things in his future.

An organic form by Ikegami Kazuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bitchu Obuje. It is 8-1/2 x 7-1/2 x 9 inches (21.5 x 19 x 23 cm) and is in fine condition.

A petaled vase in snow s\white porcelain with silver blossoming from the rim by Itaya Narumi enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 12.5 cm (5 inches) diameter and in excellent condition, from the artist this year. Itaya Narumi was born in Gifu in 1991, and graduated the Toki City Ceramics Research Facility in 2015. She has participated in several exhibitions since, with an emphasis on natural forms and tactile senses.

There is nothing superfluous in the work of Saito Hiroyuki, often described as “Muda no nai utsuwa” (Vessel without waste). Here is an exquisite tea bowl in muted silver and black with a texture which will make your hands want to dance. Like the creator, it is chic, with a simplicity of form which is timeless, and yet very much rooted in the world we live in today. The bowl is 8 cm (3 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Although I would love to offer a plethora of his work, we will have to wait until our next trip to Kyushu, as Hiroyuki is now concentrating, according to his own personal policy, on the very local populace, with whom he can develop a personal relationship, and know through direct feedback that his creations are rewarding to the end user.
Saito Hiroyuki was born in Kumamoto on the Southern Island of Kyushu in 1978. He came to ceramics after 30, having worked in industry and as a florist. In his late 20 he began to ask, what is a lifelong career? A stylish fellow, he was profoundly affected by the simplicity and style of German born Hans Coper. But it was not necessarily the connections to history and a specific tradition, but the ability to express one’s unique character through clay which drew him toward the potters fold. Around 30 he had a brush with death, and in the ICU decided should he survive, he would dedicate the remainder of his life to expressing himself in earth. Survive he did, and initially he was self-taught, eschewing the practice of apprenticeship while exploring his own new path. In 2013 he entered the Gen-gama under Furumori Gen, taking over the running of the kiln the following year. In 2018 he remodeled, setting up a group studio now shared by several artists working in various mediums.

An organic cup with sculpted sides covered in crackled pale glaze with random windows of raw and blackened clay by Ishii Takahiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 10.5 cm (just over 4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. His original forms and unique powerful glaze application strike a chord between nature, tradition and contemporary.
Ishii Takahiro was born in Gunma prefecture in 1977 took up an apprenticeship under the revolutionary Bizen artist Kakurezaki Ryuichi after graduating and has taken graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Art in 2000 and has taken Japan by storm since opening his own kiln in Hakone in 2006.

Fujiuchi Saeko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Usuhanada Kanyu Chawan. Usuhanada is a traditional Japanese color in the blue tone. Kanyu is glaze crackling. This bowl is 13.5 x 14.5 x 7.5 cm (5-1/4 x 5-3/4 x 3 inches) and is in excellent condition, from the artist late 2020.
Fujiuchi Saeko wsa born in Shiga prefecture (home of Shigaraki) in 1983 but chose to study in the Okayama Prefectureal University (Okayama being the home of Bizen) graduating in 2006. She went on to advanced studies at the Tajimi Isshoken Ceramics Research Facility (Home of Shino and Oribe wares), graduating there in 2012. This has given her exposure to a smorgasbord of various traditional styles and influences. She was awarded last year at the Arita International Ceramics Festival.

A large pulled, rolled and torn Oribe slab dish covered with translucent green by Ishii Takahiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 24 x 11 inches (61 x 28 cm) and in fine condition.
Ishii Takahiro was born in Gunma prefecture in 1980 and has taken Japan by storm after graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Art and an apprenticeship under Kakurezaki Ryuichi. A true rising star in the Ceramics world

A large Shinshoku Ware-tsubo eroded through natural processes during firing with a shattered rim attached to the body at the shoulder. This piece is a virtual textbook on Yohen firing effects. Tamadare, Shinshoku, koge and other effects are supplanted by a large white kutsuki on the front, all under the shadow of the shattered rim fused to the shoulder. It is roughly 10 inches (25 cm) tall, the same diameter enclosed in a fine kiri-wood box. To quote from Japanese Wood fired Ceramics, Ceramic pieces exposed to prolonged high temperatures and heavy ash deposit will begin to erode…as the erosion progresses, holes may appear in the ceramic pieces. This usually occurs just before major collapse. Here we see heavy erosion on the fire side of the piece, heavily coated in ash and deeply pitted. The Japanese aesthetic emphasizes asymmetry and an appreciation of the Natural forces. This aesthetic is best expressed with the respect shown towards accidents of firing, often highly appreciated for their unique qualities. Connoisseurs spend years searching for that one unpredictable piece, and it can become the focal point of a collection, most appropriate in the dark humble confines of a tea room.
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 191 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 eas 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 perservered, 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.

A bottle decorated with biblical passages by Araki Takako fired at the kiln of Uchida Koichi enclosed in the original wooden box signed by KOichi. It is the introduction of Mary from the book of Luke. The slender bottle itself is very much in the style and color of Koichi, and one might venture to say he had a hand in its making. The biblical passage is the obvious work of Takako, and on bottom is engraved her signature. The vase is 23 cm (9 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Araki Takako (1921-2004) was born daughter of a Zen priest in Nishinomiya, Hyogo prefecture between the cities of Osaka and Kobe. Araki devoted herself to the family profession of flower arranging until 1952 when she began to study painting. From 1960 to 1961 she studied sculpting in New York before returning to Japan where she studied ceramics at Kyoto Municipal Polytechnique School (today’s Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology), and then in different pottery centers. Her reputation for sculptural ceramics was established in 1979 when she received the grand prize at the Nihon Tôgei Ten National Ceramics Exhibition as well as internationally the silver prize and Grand Prize at Faenza International Ceramic Competition, Italy. In 1996 she was awarded the JCS Gold prize, arguably the most important award for a potter, by the Japan Ceramics Society. Her work is held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia). For more see Soaring Voices-Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists, 2007.
Uchida Koichi is a ceramic genius bornin Nagoya in 1969. He travelled extensively to various ceramic centers around the world, surveying environments, techniques and the overall culture of pottery before setting up his own studio in Mie in 1992. He eschews the world of competitive exhibition in favor of the intimate world and direct contact of the private gallery. This has not inhibited his reputation, and at the very young age of 34 was held a solo exhibition of his oeuvre at the Paramita Museum. He has also been exhibited internationally in Australia, China, England, India, Italy, Korea, New York, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam among others. For more see New Forms New Voices (New Orleans Museum of Art, 2017).

A flagrant barrage of color gets in your face with this futuristic vessel by Yanagihara Mutsuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Saimon Kabin (Colored Vase). Over the crackled sunshine yellow gleams platinum on lightning strikes of red, completely juxtaposed to the cool blue of the interior. Very much an iconic work by this eclectic artist. It is 17.5 cm (7 inches) diameter, 15 cm (6 inches) tall and in perfect 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.”

Silver streaks the thickly potted blue sides of this large squared bottle vessel by important Kyoto artist Morino (aki) Taimei enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The vase is 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 10 inches (21 x 11 x 25 cm) tall and in perfect condition.
Taimei was born in Kyoto in 1934, and was first accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition at a relatively young age in 1957 (a year before graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Fine Art!). In 1960 he received the prestigious Hokutosho prize at the same National Exhibition. In the early 60s he worked as a guest professor at the University of Chicago. Upon his return to Japan his career began to lift off with a second Hokutosho Prize at the Nitten, followed by The governors prize and others at the Gendai Kogei Ten (Modern National Crafts Exhibition). He was subsequently selected for display at the Kyoto and Tokyo National Museums in 1972 and was accepted into the first Nihon Togei Ten that same year. Since his list of exhibitions and prizes has continued to grow, with subsequent selections in the Tokyo and Kyoto museums of Art, as well as exhibitions in Paris, Italy, America, Canada, Denmark and others. In 2007 he received the Japan Art Academy Prize, an award to a work of art similar in weight to the bestowing of Living National Treasure to an artist. This puts the artist in a small club, rare and important. For more information on the artist see Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Fired with Passion by (Lurie/Chan, 2006) or the recent exhibition of works titled Generosity in Clay from the Natalie Fitz-gerald Collection.

A beautiful example of Oni Shino by world famous Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in a wooden box signed by his student Ayukai Kogetsu. Wild glazing and a dark burn on one side define the work, showing reason for this artists great demand. Signed on the base it is 4-1/2 inches (11.5 cm) diameter, 3-1/2 inches (9 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 eas 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. Ayukai Kogetsu was a female artist from Miyagi prefecture who became a student and follower of Tsukigata in 1979. She currently takes part in calligraphy and ceramic exhibitions throughout Japan.

Reminiscent of an excavated Haniwa figure of a house, this museum quality vase is by Koinuma Michio and comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled very simply Tsubo. It is an iconic work by this eclectic artist, whose work is entirely unique and easily discernible. It is 27.5 cm (11 inches) square, 37 cm (14-3/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Due to size this will require special shipping consideration.
Koinuma Michio is a compelling figure unique among contemporary artists. He seems to have no limit to his imagination and creativity, still dazzling us with new concepts after four decades. Born in the hectic war years in 1936, he is incredibly intelligent, graduating the economics department of Osaka University, then on to Waseda, one of the top three schools in Japan, for graduate studies in economics and politics. Relinquishing that life he opened a kiln in Mashiko in 1970. Since 1978 he has been consistently displayed at the best galleries in Japan, as well as overseas. For more see Contemporary Japanese Ceramics Fired with Passion (ISBN -10: 1-891640-38-0) or To volume 10, which is dedicated entirely to him.
The image is based on Haniwa funerary objects. The Haniwa are terracotta clay figures of people, animals, and houses which were deposited at Japanese tombs during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th century) in Japan. Haniwa were created according to the wazumi technique, in which mounds of coiled clay were built up to shape the figure, layer by layer. Michio follows that style, then through a process of multiple firing and various techniques degrades the surface to create the feeling of antiquity. A strikingly similar image is published, figure 18, in the anthology Toh, volume 10. According to the encyclopedia of Ancient History many Haniwa are particularly detailed in their execution and thus provide a valuable insight into the culture of the period. Standing over one metre in height, the mysterious figures are a striking example of early Japanese sculpture.

A deep black glazed bowl perfect for winter tea by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in a wooden box annotated by his student and titled Seto Guro Chawan. The subtleties difficult to discern, there are two distinct colors of black, with shiny, and one matte. It is 4-1/2 inches (11.5 cm) diameter, 3-3/4 inches (9 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. Ayukai Kogetsu was a female artist from Miyagi prefecture who became a student and follower of Tsukigata in 1979. She currently takes part in calligraphy and ceramic exhibitions throughout Japan.

An evocative thick slab curling up to form a basin on a circular solid clay foot elevating the contents 7 cm (3 inches) off the table. The artist fingers are clearly visible in the base forming deep impressions about which the cobalt and feldspar meander in rivulets. This piece is about as good as you can get, the entire nearly covered in white with underlying green glass and cobalt pooling dark in the center, bits of raw earth exposed like snow relinquishing the harsh winters grasp on a high mountain-scape. With this artist, as in nature, there are no straight lines, and these organic forms may just be the secret of his success. Japanese cuisine is a communal affair, and quite often main dishes will be placed in the center of the table on large dishes, where people can pluck away at it with their chopsticks. This dish is 28 x 17 cm (11 x 7 inches) with the corners curving up to 12 cm (5 inches) high. It is in excellent condition, from the artist over New Years. We have currently not had a box made for these to keep the price and shipping fee down, but one can be prepared if desired for 75 dollars.
Murakoshi Takuma is one of those enigmas who simply lives to work with clay. He does not seek to make a living through pottery, but through his primal approach has earned a following which keeps his work in high demand. If there is anything he is known for, it is without a doubt his legendary status among restaurants and Izakaya as the man to make your food presentation perfect. He was born in Aichi prefecture in 1954 and began his stroll down the pottery path in 1980 under the tutelage of Kyoto potter Umehara Takehira. Favoring very rough Shigaraki glaze, he established his own kiln in 1997 in the Kiyomizu pottery district of Kyoto, then moved to Nagaoka in 2002. Although eschewing the world of competitive exhibitions, he has been picked up by many of Japan’s preeminent galleries, including private exhibitions at the prestigious Kuroda Toen of Tokyo’s Ginza District.

A ceramic free standing architectural sculpture by Morino Taimei (Hiroaki) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Work 88-30 Kaiheki (Matte Blue). The naïve modeling and playful use of colors make for a fun and energetic visual. Works from this series are held in the Brooklyn Museum and Manyoan Collection among others. Stoneware on wood stand, the ceramic slab is 20 x 3 x 27 cm (8 x 1-1/2 x 10-1/2 inches) plus the wooden base and is in perfect condition. It comes wrapped in the original stamped cloth pouch with the artists shiori.
Morino Taimei was born in Kyoto in 1934, and was first accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition at a relatively young age in 1957 (a year before graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Fine Art!). In 1960 he received the prestigious Hokutosho prize at the same National Exhibition. In the early 60s he worked as a guest professor at the University of Chicago. Upon his return to Japan his career began to lift off with a second Hokutosho Prize at the Nitten, followed by the governor’s prize and others at the Gendai Kogei Ten (Modern National Crafts Exhibition). He was subsequently selected for display at the Kyoto and Tokyo Natby ional Museums in 1972 and was accepted into the first Nihon Togei Ten that same year. Since his list of exhibitions and prizes has continued to grow, with subsequent selections in the Tokyo and Kyoto museums of Art, as well as exhibitions in Paris, Italy, America, Canada, Denmark and others. In 2007 he received the Japan Art Academy Prize, an award to a work of art similar in weight to the bestowing of Living National Treasure to an artist. This puts the artist in a small club, rare and important. For more information on the artist see Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Fired with Passion by (Lurie/Chan, 2006) or the recent exhibition of works titled Generosity in Clay from the Natalie Fitzgerald Collection.

Gold flecks twinkle like stars in the night sky inside this free form dry lacquer sake cup by female lacquer artist Arai Etsuko enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is made of multiple layers of cloth, paper and lacquer with the final layer dusted with mother of pearl and gold flakes, polished down to a dull sheen. It is the cup 7 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter, new from the artist in perfect condition.
Arai Etsuko (born in Kanagawa in 1980) apprenticed under Hiroshi Okada after Graduating the Kyoto School of Traditional Arts in 2003. For seven years she learned the arts of maki-e and kanshitsu, nunobari and inlay, working both on new pieces, as well as in the restoration of antique items, giving her a deep understanding of the various processes of lacquer over the centuries. In 2010 she moved out on her own. Her work is characterized by the exquisite mixture of traditional lacquer ware manufacturing methods and the delicate and gentle style unique to a woman. Her work has been exhibited at various venues throughout Japan, including the Asahi Craft exhibition and Kyoten. She was designated a Traditional Craftsperson (Dento Kogeishi) of Kyoto in 2014, Nationally in 2015. In a recent conversation she said she was drawn to the world of Lacquer by its glitter and sheen. Unlike drawing or pottery, the creation of lacquer art has no immediate sense of gratification, the imagery is brought out through layers over weeks or months, often invisible until the final stages. A most demanding medium, patience and diligence are paramount, but the result is unlike any other artform, and with proper care, can be passed through the generations, an heirloom to span the centuries.

A superb sculptural work of horizontal facets stacked upon each other in twisting obelisk by Mashiko based potter Matsuzaki Ken enclosed in the original signed wooden box. This is a masterpiece by this artist. It is 17 inches (43 cm) tall, 8 x 8-1/2 inches (20 x 21 cm) and in excellent condition. An identical shape is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and published in the book “Contemporary Clay, Japanese Ceramics for the New Centruy” by Joe Earle.
Matsuzaki Ken was born in Tokyo in 1950, and grew up in that dynamic post war era where tradition and modernity were at constant loggerheads. He graduated Tamagawa University in 1972, and moved to Mashiko to take up an apprenticeship under (to be) Living National Treasure Shimaoka Tatsuzo; putting him in direct lineage with Mingei legend Hamada Shoji. In 1978 he established the Yushin kiln, initially emulating the ordinary Mashiko-Mingei themes. However he could not be labeled so easily, and has sought expression in many forms and themes, including Shino, Hakeme, Yakishime, Zogan and porcelain. He is widely exhibited both inside and outside Japan, including New York, Boston and England and including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Works by the artist are held in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Sackler Museum、Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Cleveland Museum of Art, Israel Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ibaraki Prefectural Museum and Mashiko Ceramic Museum as well as any number of other important public and private collections. See also the book “Ken Matsuzaki, Burning Tradition” (2008).

A set of five Ginsai (silver decorated) Mukozuke bowls by Kyoto artist Morino Taimei enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The blue is his signature color, silver and gold wavelets surrounding the silver basin. Striking, at the same time complimentary, everything we have come to expect from this artist. Each bowl is roughly 3-1/2 inches (9 cm) diameter and in perfect condition. The box as well is like new. Taimei was born in Kyoto in 1934, and was first accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition at a relatively young age in 1957 (a year before graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Fine Art!). In 1960 he received the prestigious Hokutosho prize at the same National Exhibition. In the early 60s he worked as a guest professor at the University of Chicago. Upon his return to Japan his career began to lift off with a second Hokutosho Prize at the Nitten, followed by The governors prize and others at the Gendai Kogei Ten (Modern National Crafts Exhibition). He was subsequently selected for display at the Kyoto and Tokyo National Museums in 1972 and was accepted into the first Nihon Togei Ten that same year. Since his list of exhibitions and prizes has continued to grow, with subsequent selections in the Tokyo and Kyoto museums of Art, as well as exhibitions in Paris, Italy, America, Canada, Denmark and others. In 2007 he received the Japan Art Academy Prize, an award to a work of art similar in weight to the bestowing of Living National Treasure to an artist. This puts the artist in a small club, rare and important. For more information on the artist see Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Fired with Passion by (Lurie/Chan, 2006) or the recent exhibition of works titled Generosity in Clay from the Natalie Fitz-gerald Collection.

The sides are scorched from flame on this large, flattened ball form tsubo by Koie Ryoji enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The raw Shigaraki earth is scored with strikes from a paddle and deep gouges from the artist fingers. The Tsubo is roughly 8 inches (20.5 cm) tall, the same diameter. Born in Tokoname, 1938, Ryoji graduated the Tokoname industrial school and moved on to work at the City Ceramic Research Facility. In 1966 he established his own studio. Largely displayed and prized, he was most recently awarded the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Award in 2009, the most prestigious of pottery prizes in Japan.

A most extraordinary glaze like green velvet covers this tall bottle form vase by modern Japanese pottery master Imai Masayuki enclosed in the original signed wooden box dating circa 1970. The long tapering from is expertly rolled at the mouth, the soft absorbent textured glaze lying perfectly smooth over all. The hada, or feeling of the surface is unlike any I have ever seen, and a drop of water is instantly absorbed by the porous surface. The vase is 16 inches (45 cm) tall and in excellent condition. Imai was born in Osaka in 1930 and studied the plastic arts under Kusube Yaichi of Kyoto, the city he chose to make home. He has been a long standing and often exhibited member of the Nitten, receiving the Hokuto Award there. He also took the grand prize at the International Biennale of Contemporary Ceramics as well as the prestigious Japan Ceramic Society Award in 1965. He is mentor and teacher to a new generation of Japanese potters including Ichino Masahiko.