Catalog: Artists (1023)

A large modernist Sculpture covered in lacquer, polished metal and mother of pearl by Okada Yuji exhibited at the 1990 Gendai Kogeiten. Suzu-ita, Mother of Pearl and colored lacquers on Wood and Acrylic panel it is 80 x 42 x 18 cm (31-1/2 x 16-1/2 x 7 inches) and is in excellent condition. It comes with a wooden placard titled and signed by the artist.
Okada Yuji was born in Kyoto in 1948 and graduated with honors from the Kyoto Hiyoshi-ga-oka High School Lacquer Course, Receiving top prize for his graduation project. In 1969 he apprenticed under Ito Hiroshi, and the following year was accepted into the Kyoten (Kyoto Prefectural Art Exhibition) as well as the Kyoto Kogei Bijutsu Sakka Kyokai exhibition (Kyoto Kogei Association of artists) where he would be awarded. This begins his solo career. In 1972 he establishes himself as an independent artist, and his work is accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition. In 1973 he is accepted into the Nihon Gendai Kogeiten (Modern Crafts Exhibition). He would subsequently exhibit regularly with the above mentioned Nitten, Nihon Gendai Kogeiten, Kyoten, Kyoto Kogei Bijutsu Sakka Kyokai and later at the Urushi no Bi-ten (Nihon Shikko Kyokai Japanese Lacquer Association) exhibitions as well as solo and group shows, receiving many awards over the years. Later serving as a judge at several of these events. Throughout the 70s and early 80s he would receive numerous awards. In 1985 he took a professorship at the Dohda Art School. 1996 he enters a new phase, having become well known for restoration of lacquer arts, he begins to actively promote restoration work in addition to creating his own artwork. He would go on to restore over 3500 works of lacquer art before 2022. In 1999 he exhibits three Dry-Lacquer works at the New York Art Festival. This is a turning point in his career, when he begins debuting his latest works overseas in Germany, England and America. He retires from the Kyoto City Dohda Art School in 2003 and establishes a lacquer research center in the Ninenzaka area of Eastern Kyoto. In 2006 he opens the Lacquer Studio Shiun to pass on skills to a younger generation and becomes a member of the International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation. Post 2008 he concentrated on sharing his knowledge and technique with students and on the promotion of lacquer art through symposiums and events around the globe while at the same time continued to research into the techniques and restoration of lacquer artworks. Work by the artist is held in the collections of: the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Denver Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts New York, New Orleans Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum and Shanghai Art Museum among many others.

A Fabulous bowl by Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seiji Deisai Chawan. The small bowl is Tabi-chawan size, made to be transportable for a picnic or some event. It is 10 cm (4 inches) diameter, 7.5 cm (3 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer. Discarding the family business, he apprenticed in plastic arts under future Living National Treasure Ishiguro Munemaro. His work retains some principal elements of his teachers style while incorporating an understated elegance and avant-garde spirit of challenge uncommon for his time. He was first exhibited at the Nitten in 1951, receiving numerous awards there since. He also took the gold medal at the Prague International Exhibition, and was at the Brussels World Exposition. He is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto Museum of Modern art, Clark Center and the Freer Gallery among many others.

A quintessential work by Sodeisha founding member Yamada Hikaru enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shirogesho Tetsu-e Tsubo (Tsubo with Iron Decoration on White Glaze). It is 214 cm (8 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Yamada Hikaru (1924-2001), was born into the family of layman potter and priest Yamada Tetsu, and raised in Gifu after the family home was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake. At the age of 20 he entered the Kyoto ceramics research facility, 15 years junior to those who had inspired the great Mingei movement at that same institution. Somehow escaping overseas service in the war, he met Yagi Kazuo in 1945, and the two formed an instant bond, founding a group for young potters the following year. Compounded by the austerity and poverty they faced as young artists in the immediate postwar, the group grew and along with Kumakura Junkichi, Suzuki Osamu and Yagi Kazuo formed the most influential post war ceramics organization, Sodeisha, as it was, in 1948. They eschewed public competition and espoused the ideas of art for arts sake, negating the ideas of the mingei movement, which stressed function over form. Together, members of the group worked tirelessly to promote modern Japanese pottery for the next several decades both within and outside of Japan. Held in innumerable public and private collections including the National Museum of Modern Art, both Tokyo and Kyoto, Museum of New South Wales and the Victoria Albert.

A spectacular large basin covered in fissured green with tinges of red by Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seiji O-zara. It is 16-1/4 inches (42 cm) diameter, 4 inches (10 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer. Discarding the family business he apprenticed in plastic arts under Ishiguro Munemaro. His work retains some principal elements of his teacher’s style while incorporating an understated elegance and avant-garde spirit of challenge uncommon for his time. He was first exhibited at the Nitten in 1951, receiving numerous awards there since. He also took the gold medal at the Prague International Exhibition, and was at the Brussels World Exposition. He is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto Museum of Modern art and the Freer Gallery among others. In 1985 he was named a Juyo Mukei Bunkazai (col. Living National Treasure) for his work in Tetsu-yu iron glaze. But this did not stop him continuing to research into uncommon ground, and he strove, like an artist as opposed to a craftsman, to constantly innovate and evolve to the day he died.

A bowl deeply impressed with Jomon rope designs by Living National Treasure Shimaoka Tasuzo enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 7.5 (3 inches) tall, 13.5 cm (5-1/4 inches) diameter.
Shimaoka Tatsuzo (1919-2007) was born in Tokyo and enrolled in the Tokyo Kogei Daigaku Ceramics division in 1939. The following year he would meet Mashiko Mingei potter Hamada Shoji, and the course of his life was thought set, graduating in 1941. However he was drafted in 1942, and sent to Burma where he would remain until repatriation after the cessation of hostilities. In 1946 Tatsuzo apprenticed under Hamada who encouraged him to find his own voice, which he did when in 1950 took part in research into ancient Jomon potteries with Shirasaki Shunji, which would have a profound influence on his style. Working with Jomon rope patterns, Tatsuzo set out to create a style unique to himself, establishing his own kiln in 1954. Widely exhibited, awarded and influential in his lifetime, he received the Japan Ceramic Society Gold award in 1994, one of the highest honors for a Japanese ceramic artist, and was designated a Living National Treasure (Juyo Mukei Bunkazai or Ningenkokuho) in 1996 culminating with receiving the Order of the Rising Sun in 1999.

A very heavy unusual charger by modern avant-garde artist Suzuki Goro decorated with Oribe colored graffiti of traditional themes enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Combs, hairpins and bamboo and ceramic pipes in orange, green and black decorate the pale sand-textured surface of the massive charger. Typical of this artist is cut from a very thick slab with an irregular edge. On back a self portrait hunches over the clay forming a large vase, the caption beside reading Nanikuso! (I will not lose!) The dish is 17-1/2 inches (44 cm) diameter, weighing more than 7 kilograms (15 pounds) and is in perfect condition! Goro has a list of shows and prizes too lengthy to go through, but the highlights are, Nitten National Art Exhibition, Nihon Shin Kogei Ten (New National Crafts Exhibition), Nihon Gendai Kogei Ten (National Modern Crafts Exhibition), Asahi Togei Ten-(First of Show and governors prize), as well as the Kofukai Ten among many others.

A fine Tenmoku Glazed pot with Pine needle design by Kimura Moriyasu dating circa 1985 enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 8 inches (20 cm) tall and in fine condition. A vase with this same glaze is held in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan.
Kimura Moriyasu (b. 1935) studied pottery initially at the Kyoto Ceramics Research Facility (which turned out such masters as Hamada Shoji and Kawai Kanjiro) and then under his brother Kimura Morikazu. He is well known for his use of crawling and oil spot glazes. He exhibits with the Gendai Nihon Togeiten and Nihon Dento Kogeiten among others. He has been awarded the Kyoto Prefectural Order of Cultural Merit (2004). Work by him is held in the Britush Museum, Boston Museum, Dallas Museum and Ise Shrine among others.

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 small powerful work in clear glass covered in spiraling silver foil with a lid of opaque black by Ogawa Kaoru enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Ruri Koro. The piece is supported on three feet which seem to drip like black honey from the bottom while the same black crowns the six-sided form, rising in flutes to the finial. It is 13 cm (just over 5 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Okawa Kaoru was born in Niigata in 1940 and graduated the design department of prestigious Tokyo Musashino Art School in 1964. A pioneering glass artist, works were exhibited in Europe and throughout Japan in the 1980s and 90s, receiving top prize at the first Tohoku Glass Art Exhibition in 1990 and again Top Prize at the 1st National Glass Art Exhibition in 1991. The artis then took a position as head of design for Hokuyo Glass in Aomori, famous for Tsugaru Vidoro Glass.

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.

An ever-folding band of gold flecked fabric patterned with colors and waves like an elaborate obi (sash) seems to bind the cloak of rough dark clay forming this vase by Nakamura Takuo (Baizan III) enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Atop a gilded Karasu-guchi finial, a tradtional shape called a Crows Mouth, provides the top and a spattering of ash sprays out a random pattern against the rigid form. It is 21 x 7.5 x 31 cm (8 x 3 x 12 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Nakamura Baizan (Takuo) was born in 1945, the second son of Baizan II. After working a regular job for a while, he returned to Kanazawa in 1978 to apprentice under his father, finding he could not get pottery out of his skin. His dark forms wrapped in iridescent colors like colorful obi on a subdued Kimono have received much acclaim, and his work is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, Chicago Museum of Art, and the Kanazawa 21st century Museum of Contemporary Art among others.

This burnished finish is one of the signature effects of Living National Treasure Yamamoto Toshu seen on this fluted gourd enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen-yaki Hyotan Hanaike. Here the blue-gray clay is covered in charred red mottles, like the natural patterns on a dried gourd, the smooth sangiri surface intentionally marred with occasional rough patches. A masterpiece and true evidence of the mastery of Toshu, one of the greatest artists to revive the tradition after the devastation and neglect of the industrial revolution in Japan. It is just less than 9 inches (22.5 cm) tall and in excellent condition. For more on this important artist sea the recent exhibition: The Bizen, at the Miho Museum in Shiga prefecture, in which a number of this artists’ works were featured.
Yamamoto Toshu (1906-1994) began working in a pottery at the age of 15. 12 years later (1933) he went independent, but interestingly decided to train again later not under a Bizen master, but Kusube Yaichi, perhaps stimulating his unusual eye for Bizen. After much acclaim, it was in 1959 that he made his worldwide appearance, with a gold prize at the Brussels World Exposition, and was named an important cultural property of Okayama that same year. He was most in love with the wheel, and his forms are crisp and sharp. He was named a living national Treasure in 1987. Works by the artist are held in the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo and National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto as well as the Victoria Albert Museum among many others.

A small dish from the 1960s by Fujihira Shin enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 8 inches (20 cm) diameter and in fine condition.
Fujihira Shin (b. 1922-2012) was born into the family of a ceramics dealer in Kyoto, raised among the pots, and attended the Art University, however, in his second year would lose four years of his life to battling illness. This life and death struggle would make him a strong character, coming forth from then on in his works. He would come to the National Scene first upon receiving the Hokutosho prize at the Nitten National Exhibition in 1958. This brought him to the forefront of the ceramics scene. He was awarded the JCS (Japan Ceramic Society) award in 1973. During his career works by him were often selected to represent Japan and it’s arts overseas, in Europe, and the Americas. He was awarded the order of cultural merit in 1991 by Kyoto prefecture. In 1993 the Mainichi Ceramics Prize. In 1996 Kyoto prefectural order of cultural merit and in 1998 received the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Prize, one of the highest honors for a Japanese potter. Held in the collections of the V&A, National Museum in Warsaw, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo has more than a dozen pieces, only to be outdone by Kyoto which has more than 20 pieces. For more see “Japanese Ceramics Today Part 1” 2003.

A slightly more austere work completing this tea set by Kanzaki Shiho enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Chawan and named inside the lid Amidha-Do (Hall of Amitabha). Here the artist has refrained from over-decoration, allowing the natural color and texture of the terracotta clay to dominate. It is 5-1/4 inches (13.3 cm) diameter, 3-1/2 inches (9 cm) tall and in excellent condition, dating circa 1990.
Kanzaki Shiho (1942-2018) preferred firing his kiln for ten days, resulting in the rich textures and heavy ash deposits apparent on his work. He was born in Shigaraki, and was fast tracked into the Kansai University Law Department, but rather the life of a lawyer, after graduation he went with his heart to take up the precarious life of a potter, apprenticing under Mino artist Matsuyama Suketoshi. Later he returned to Shigaraki working there at the research center while developing his own style and methods with the Anagama. He consistently stayed with the personal world of private exhibitions, developing a large following both at home and abroad and his list of exhibitions is impressive. He has been the subject of several documentaries and Television interviews, and is widely published. For more information see, The Fire Artist, a documentary by Canadian Director Claude Gagnon. He unfortunately passed away last year and these may be the last pieces we have by him.

the silhouette of birds flit through the branches of the forest which rises up in white trunks on the verdant green of this flower receptacle by Yamaguchi Yoshihiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kasai Ju-in Mon Hanaike. The pebble textured surface is very unusual for Kutani ware, and bridges the glitzy world of porcelain and the more matte world of ceramics. The soft palette allows the vase to work in any decor, the abstract lines seeming to grow up randomly, without intent, and yet the overall design is quite striking. This is 31 cm (12 inches) diameter, 20 cm (8 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Yamaguchi Yoshihiro (b. 1951) studied under Asakura Isokichi and graduated from the Kutani Crafts School in 1971. He has exhibited with the Nitten, The Issuikai Ten, The Nihon Gendai Kogeiten National Modern Crafts Exhibition (awarded), The Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition as well as the National Modern Arts Exhibition (awarded) and was designated a Dento Kogeishi (Traditional Craftsman) in 1993.

Five for silver… Six for gold… Seven for the secret….Suzuki Goro is counting crows surrounding the epitaph in the center of this Kuro-Shino Kataguchi bowl enclosed in the original signed wooden box. In the center we hear the words of Noguchi Ujo’s 1921 hit song “Karasu naze naku no? Karasu ha yama ni kawai nanatsu no ko ga aru kara yo…” (Why does the crow call? It calls for seven lovely children in the mountains…). As with everything there are many allusions in the lyrics, and much is either implied or left unsaid. ‘Seven children is a simple euphemism for many. The relaxed form is very much a product of this vivacious artist, whose lust for life is apparent in all he creates. The subject manner is yet quite unusual and striking for its audacity. The bowl is 13 inches (33 cm) diameter, 10 cm (4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Suzuki Goro has a list of shows and prizes too lengthy to go through, but the highlights are, Nitten National Art Exhibition, Nihon Shin Kogei Ten (New National Crafts Exhibition), Nihon Gendai Kogei Ten (National Modern Crafts Exhibition), Asahi Togei Ten-(First of Show and governors prize), as well as the Kofukai Ten among many others. He has a strong and devout following both domestic and international.

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.

A quintessential example of this artists most sought-after style, a ‘Scattered Blossoms’ vessel by Kondo Yutaka enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Hai (Sake cup). The pattern of petals is impressed deeply into the surface, and filled with white slip, contrasting starkly against the textured black background. It is 4.8 cm (2 inches) tall, 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. For a similar work in this style see the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. According to their description:
Among the more unexpected twentieth-century Japanese proponents of buncheong idioms was the potter Kondō Yutaka. The eldest son of Kondō Yūzō , a designated National Living Treasure for his work in porcelain with cobalt blue-painted designs, Yutaka eventually branched out in different directions, including an exploration of Korean buncheong ceramics, examples of which he first encountered in Western collections during his travels. He would later learn about buncheong ware in Korea. Yutaka developed a highly creative vocabulary of white-slip design, as exemplified by this stunning black-and-white vase, whose stamped and white slip-applied pattern both echoes and is utterly distinct from antique buncheong ware.
Kondo Yutaka (1932-1983) was born into a traditional pottery family in Kyoto. He studied under Living National Treasures Kondo Yuzo and Tomimoto Kenkichi at the Kyoto Municipal University of Art, graduating in 1957. That same year his work was accepted into the New Masters of Crafts Exhibition (Shin-takumi Kogeikai Ten). From 1962-63 he traveled in the US and lectured at Indiana University with Karl Martz. Returning to Japan he was granted a position at his Alma Matter, where he would continue to teach for the rest of his life, while making frequent research trips abroad to South and Central Asia, where he would master the T’zu Chou techniques expressed in these works. He twice received the Mayors prize at the Kyoten Exhibition, was awarded at the Asahi Togeiten, and is recipient of the coveted JCS award in 1967. The following year would see his work displayed at the New Generation of Ceramics Exhibition held at the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art. In 1985 a posthumous exhibition was held honoring his lifes work at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. Work by the artist is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Musée Tomo, Tokyo and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London among others. For more on this important artist see the book Kondo Yutaka: The Transformation of a Traditional Kyoto Family (2010)