Catalog: Artists: Ceramics: Pottery (587)

Ash fills the embedded patterns on this Kiln-altered Tsutsu-gata bowl by Living National Treasure Shimaoka Tatsuzo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yohen Zogan Jomon Wan. Crisp black charring and the various depths of ash are a bit of a departure for this artist whose work is often sedate, relying on the texture and patterns of the Jomon rope design over dependence on colorful glazes. It is 11 cm (4-1/2 inches) diameter, 10 cm (4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
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 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.

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.

Red Hidasuki lines of straw on austere Bizen clay by the master of that genre Isezaki Mitsuru enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Perfectly turned bowl representing this important artists style. 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 7 cm (2-3/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Isezaki Mitsuru (1934-2010) was born to a family of potters, his father Yozan and younger brother Jun both very important in Bizen pottery. In 1998 Mitsuru was named a Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property for Okayama (the prefectural version of a living National Treasure, likely more important as it is truly based on the artists contributions rather than heredity). He has innumerable exhibitions, including the Nihon Togei-Ten (National Ceramics Exhibition) Nihon Dento Kogei-Ten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition) and Gendai Togei Ten (Modern Japanese Ceramics Exhibition). In fact his first piece exhibited with the First National Ceramic Exhibition was selected for display in a show which went around the globe. Recipient of the Kaneshige Toyo prize as well as purchased by the Japanese Foreign service as gift to foreign dignitaries. His Hidasuki was considered to be of the highest grade since the Momoyama period.

Here is a masterpiece by Wakao Toshisada, one of the great artists of the post-war era who helped to revive the Shino tradition (now one of the most popular Japanese forms) from extinction. An early masterpiece by the artist showing his abilities from inception, this bowl was selected for the cover of the exhibition invitation card in 1973 (card included). It is 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) diameter, 9 cm (3-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Wakao 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 later 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.

This piece is almost identical to the work submitted by the artist to the 7th Nihon Dento Kogei Ten in 1983 (featured as item number 116 in the catalog for that year) and indeed, shares the title Hi-iro In-mon Tsubo (Flame-Colored Stamp-Patterned Tsubo). It measures 34 cm (13-1/2 inches) diameter, 29.5 cm (12 inches) tall and is in excellent condition.
Kanzaki Muneaki (b 1949) is the fourth generation head of the traditional Mokusen Kiln in Koga, Shigaraki. His works have been exhibited at the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition), Nihon Togeiten (National Ceramics Exhibition), Asahi Togeiten Asahi Ceramics Exhibition) and Chunichi Kokusai Togeiten (Chunichi International Exhibition) among many others.

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

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

Iron glaze with hakeme brushed slip design by Koie Ryoji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Chawan. There is something of a midcentury abstract expressionist painting to it, with minimal coloration, it stands out in its minimalism and simplicity with a quiet elegance. The brush stroke is consistent both inside and out, not allowing a boundary at the rim. It is 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) diameter, 8.5 cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Koie Ryoji (1938-2020)) was born in Tokoname and graduated the Tokoname industrial school before moving on to work at a tile factory in 1957, where he would lose two fingers in an industrial accident. Faced with this handicap, he entered the City Ceramics Research Facility in 1962 where he furthered his studies and his unique style began to coagulate. In 1966 he established his own studio. By the early 70s his work was garnering attention overseas and he has since been largely displayed and prizedculminating in a lifetime with the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Award in 2008, the most prestigious of pottery prizes in Japan. Work by him is held in the collections of the National Museums of Modern Art in both Tokyo and Kyoto, Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Idemitsu Museum, The Museum of Fine Art in Gifu, Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Seoul Museum of Art in Korea, and the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia among many other public and private collections.

A stellar display of Hidasuki covers the sides of this voluminous Bizen vase by Yamashita Joji enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 15 inches (38 cm) wide, 14 inches (37 cm) tall and in excellent condition, and retains the original exhibition label on bottom. Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately. Yamashita Joji (b. Tokyo, 1947) lives in Okayama, but began his artistic career in the Vancouver Art School in Canada. Upon returning to Japan in 1971 he apprenticed under (to be) living national treasure Isezaki Jun. He was first awarded in 1972 at the 19th Traditional Crafts Exhibition, and In 1973 was exhibited at the 2nd Nihon Togeiten. This was the start of a stellar career, seeing him establish his own kiln in Inbe in 1978. He has since received too many awards to be listed here including the Nihon Togeiten and Top prize at the 14th Tanabe Art Museum Modern Tea Forms Exhibition (Chanoyu Zokei Ten), and served as mentor to a new age of potters including Wakimoto Hiroyuki.

Crackled green glass pools in the center of this humble tea bowl by Ezaki Issei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Chawan. The works of Issei personify the humble virtues of the tea ceremony. They are imbued with a sense of Musakui (Lack of intention), a bowl that has come to be, rather than a bowl that was created. It is 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter, 5.5 cm (2-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Ezaki Issei (also Esaki, 1918-1992) was born in Tokoname, but came to the road of the potter later in life, establishing himself as an artist in 1956. It was he who set the pattern for the research and revival of medieval techniques. His work was exhibited and awarded at the National Art Exhibition (Nitten), National Traditional Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogeiten), Asahi Crafts Fair (Asahi Kogeiten) and the Modern Japanese Ceramics Exhibition (Gendai Nihon Togeiten) among others. He taught both Osako Mikio and Takeuchi Kimiaki, making him likely the most influential 20th century Tokoname artist. After ten years battling sickness and on the slate to be named a living national treasure, he succumbed to illness at the age of 74. Several works by him is held in both the National Museums of Modern Art in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Sunrise colors grow gradually lighter toward the top of this odd shaped vessel culminating in brilliant pink by Miyashita Zenji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Saidei Kaki. It is 31 cm (12 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Miyashita Zenji (1939-2012) was born into the family of potter Miyashita Zenju, and graduated the Kyoto Municipal University of Art under Kiyomizu Kyubei and Kusube Yaichi. Starting with the most difficult, he worked from Celadon, which relies on shape and extreme control of firing. He began exhibiting in the annual Nitten exhibitions in 1964, eventually winning eighteen prizes. According to the Sackler, which holds 6 works by him, “ His mature work was a modern embodiment of a classic Kyoto mode associated with the Heian period (794–1185). He applied delicate layers of color—reminiscent of multilayered court robes or decorated papers made for inscribing poetry—using not over-glaze enamels or glazes but clay itself, dyed with mineral pigments”. He is held in the aforementioned Freer-Sackler, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, and the Brooklyn Museum the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and of course The National Museums of Modern Art both in Kyoto and Tokyo among a host of others.

A patterned Seki vase by Ito Shin enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hai-mon Hanaike (Ash Pattern Vase). The patterns remind me of the patterns on an Ainu Robe. Stoneware, it is 38 cm (15 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Ito Shin was born in Chiba in 1952 and has lived in worked in Mashiko in Tochigi Prefecture. He studied under Kikuchi Akira, another Mashiko artist. He is a member of the Dento Kogeikai, or traditional arts guild and also the Japan Ceramics Exhibition and has been selected to exhibit in these shows since 1977.

My favorite piece by this unique artist, a tall slab form vase wearing a sash of random words scrawled like some ancient graffiti riddle by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a wooden box titled April Fool. This dates from early in her career, late 70s to early 80s.
WRITE ME SEPTEMBER MOON HOLIDAY SOMEDAY APRIL FOOL ON THE HILL TAKE IT EASY SEVEN SNOWBIRD…
As if dashed out in a trance, there is something magical about it, a view into the soul of a young girl fresh out of school and looking at the wonder of a life ahead. The vase is 41.5 cm (over 16 inches) tall and comes directly from the artist’s family with a wooden box annotated by her brother Naoki.
Shigemori Yoko (1953-2021) was born in Kagoshima. Yoko came to Kyoto where she initially studied painting at the Kyoto Tankidai Art College, then moved to ceramics at the Kyoto Municipal Art University where she studied traditional pottery techniques under Kondo Yutaka before entering advanced courses under avant-garde Yagi Kazuo, graduating in 1979. Her first solo exhibitions were held while still a student at Gallery Iteza in Kyoto. She eschewed the world of competitive exhibitions in favor of the intimacy of private galleries, and her list of solo exhibitions is expansive. She received the Yagi Kazuo prize in 1986 and 1988 at the Nihon Gendai Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition. She was one of five artists featured in Toh, volume 76, the first issue dedicated to Kyoto potters. Toh was, at the time

A most unusual tea bowl charred black on one side which emenates a golden glow on the raw earth opposite, by Bizen living national Treasure Yamamoto Toshu enclosed in the original signed double wood storage box titled Bizen Yohen Chawan (Kiln Altered Tea bowl) with silk wrapping cloth. The beauty of kiln altered works is that they are quite often entirely unique. Something unexpected that occurred inside the kiln during the firing or cooling process, that caused a deviation from the norm or expected result. Yohen is in fact a bit unusual in Bizen ware, and I have never seen another like this particular bowl, with its shimmering golden reflection. Unfortunately the ephemeral effect is very difficult to capture on the camera. It is 5 inches (13 cm) diameter, and in excellent condition.
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. 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.

A sculptural Green form by Yamazaki Akira (Yamazaki Koyo II, b. 1927) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kujaku-yu Tori-tsubo (Peacock Glazed Bird Shaped Vase). The vase is 11 x 6 x 6 inches (28 x 15 x 14 cm) and in fine condition, signed on the base Akira.
Akira’s father, Yamazaki Koyo (1890-1979), was displayed and awarded consistently in many National Exhibitions and is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art Boston and Bern Museum of Art Switzerland among others. Akira studied under Kiyomizu Rokubei VI as well as his father and was equally exhibited and awarded, including the Hokutosho prize at the Nitten where he later served as Judge, Kofukai Ten and Governors prize at the Kyoten. For more see Fired with Passion: contemporary Japanese ceramics (2006).

A delightful small tea bowl by one of the greatest potters of the 20th century, Kamoda Shoji, enclosed in a wooden box signed by his wife. Brown glaze is draped quietly across the rough dark clay, the contrast between simplicity and texture a pleasure to hold. It is 4 inches (10 cm) Diameter, 2-1/2 inches (6.5 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Kamoda Shoji is without a doubt one of the most important and influential ceramic artists of the 20th century. Born in Osaka in 1933, he studied initially at the Kyoto Municipal University of Art under to be Living National Treasure Tomimoto Kenkichi, graduating in 1955. While in school he was awarded at the Shinshokai Exhibition (where he would be often exhibited) and his graduating project was purchased by the University Museum. While working a stint at a commercial kiln, he was accepted into the Contemporary Japanese Ceramics Exhibition. In 1958 he took up residence at the Tsukamoto Ceramics Research Kiln in Mashiko, establishing his own kiln there in 1961. That same year he was accepted into the National Traditional Arts and Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogeiten) where he would exhibit until 1967. In 1964 he boldly stepped onto the stage with pieces in the Modern Japanese Ceramics Exhibition held at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto; International Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition held at Tokyo National Museum, and the New Generation of Ceramics Exhibition held at the Goto Museum. He would receive the JCS (Japan Ceramics Society) Award that year, one of the most important prizes for a Japanese potter. In 1966 his work was presented in New York at the First Japan Art Festival, granting him international acclaim to add to his growing domestic reputation and he would receive the JCS Gold Prize that year, cementing his reputation. Thereafter his work was much celebrated in the world of invitational exhibitions and he would receive many awards. In 1969 he moved his kiln, and would again relocate a decade later. He died suddenly at the age of 49 in 1983. His work would be the subject of a multitude of posthumous exhibitions, starting with the Tochigi Prefectural Museum on the third anniversary of his death, and the following year at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art. His work is held in the National Museums of Modern Art, both in Tokyo and Kyoto, Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art, Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Art, Iwate Museum of Art, Victoria & Albert Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and Beijing Palace Museum among many others. For more see: Japanese Ceramics Today: Masterworks from the Kikuchi Collection (1983), Japanese Studio Crafts by Rupert Faulkner (1995) or Into the Fold: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection (2015).

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.