Catalog: Artists: Ceramics (702)

A fundamental form covered in gaseous rusty clouds by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. On an unusual note, it is raised ever so slightly on a central foot, allowing it to float just over the surface upon which it rests. The cylinder has a split around the top, a feature the artist uses as an enhancement to the character. It is 21 cm diameter, 18.5 cm tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist before the show.
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 heavily encrusted glossy sake flask by Tanimoto Kei compliments a Guinomi displaying a rustic matte finish by his son Tanimoto Takeshi enclosed in the original signed wooden boxes titled Iga Tokkuri and Iga Guinomi respectively. Bīdoro glaze (a type of natural wood ash glaze formed by firing, named from vidro, the Portuguese word for glass) coalesces into a yellow crystal rivulet on one side of the Tokkuri, opposite is a shadow of gray ash. The Cup on the other hand, bears heavy scorch marks and a more prominent texture, perfect for handling, and yellow green glaze accentuates the various textures beneath. The Tokkuri is 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) tall, the guinomi 7 cm tall, roughly the same diameter. Both are in excellent condition.
Tanimoto Kei was born the son of Iga artist Tanimoto Kosei in 1948. In 1970 he apprenticed under Hineno Tatsuzo in Mino, and in his youth he experimented widely in many mediums, design, and even spent a few years in Paris learning the art of etching. He returned to Japan in 1977 to devote himself to the plastic arts.
Tanimoto Takashi was born in Mie the eldest son of Tanimoto Kei in 1978. After graduating the literature department of Doshisha university, he entered the Kyoto prefectural ceramic school, then apprenticed under Mori Tadashi. In 2004 he spent a year abroad in Italy, returning to Japan in 2006 to launch his solo career.

A covered container made as an incense burner by Koyama Kiyoko slabbed and cored from Shigaraki clay and covered in glassy green motlen ash enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 13.5 cm (5-1/2 inches) diameter, roughly the same height and in excellent condition.
Koyama Kiyoko was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1936. Following the second world war the family moved to Shiga prefecture, eventually settling in the pottery village of Shigaraki. She took a job as a ceramic painter's assistant at a young age. In 1954 she began to work as a pottery decorator in Shigaraki under Nakashima Takamitsu. Later she moved to Kyoto to study Kenzan ware and Sometsuke under Yoshitake Eijiro. Aged 27 she began working in earnest in clay and studying clay technique under Misawa Kenzo. Enthralled by an ancient pot shard with natural blue ash glaze, she sought to recreate this effect in modern times, building her own kiln and repeatedly firing, searching for that magic point, but slowly pushing the family toward insolvency. Not only was she attempting to break barriers with the pots she created, but she was forced to break barriers in a male dominated world where women were prohibited from the wood fired kiln as unworthy. She did have her supporters of course, and with their help and persistence and ever longer firings she eventually succeeded in finding that blue. Kiyoko has a list of shows and prizes which would fill pages, including the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Nihon Togei Ten Ceramic Exhibition, the Asahi Togei Ten Ceramics Exhibition as well as many international exhibitions. Her son Koyama Kenichi (1961-1992) worked to take over the family kiln, but succumbed to Leukemia after a long fight. Their story is the subject of the film Hi-Bi (2005) and the recent NHK television drama Scarlet. She is the preeminent pioneering female wood firing artist in Japan, and bore the brunt of centuries of discrimination against women. Through it all she persevered to become one of the most highly sought of Shigaraki potters. For more on her works see Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections, Japan Society New York, 1993

An organic sake cup on stand in pastel yellow by Yamaguchi Michi enclosed in the orignalsl signed wooden box titled Shuhai. It is roughly 6 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Yamaguchi Michie was born in Aichi prefecture in 1964, and came to pottery at the age of 35, opening her studio in Nagoya in 2003. She first exhibited with the Nitten National Art Exhibition in 2008. In 2009 she was accepted into the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramic exhibition, where she has been subsequently awarded. That same year she was recipient of the Shorei-sho prize at the Kobe Biennale, and she entered for the first time the Womans Association of Ceramic Artists (WACA) Exhibition, receiving the T-shi prize. In 2011 she would be awarded at the Kikuchi Biennale, the 45th Female Artist Exhibition, as well as the Nihon Shin Kogeiten National New Crafts Exhibition. She would also first enter the International Ceramics Festival in Mino. 2012 saw her work awarded at the Mino Togei Shorokusho Chawan Ten Tea Bowl exhibition as well as the Mino Togei Ceramic Exhibition. In 2014 she was prized at the Hagi Taisho-ten show. She was awarded again in 2017 at the 43rd Mino Togeiten, and Governors prize at the 54th WACA Exhibition in 2020. In 2021 she was awarded the 43rd Nihon Shin Kogeiten New Crafts Exhibition, as well as the Kasama Togei Taishou Ten and in 2022 at the Tobi Ceramic Art Society of Japan Exhibition. She has taken part in ceramic events in Europe and Korea, and her work is held in the Toshin Ceramic Museum.

It is a privilege to introduce this incredible sculpture by the young female ceramicist Furui Akiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Tsubomi (bud) dating from 2017. It is made up of hundreds of rolled sheafs of shaved clay covered in a white slip and fused together. The amount of work which goes into each sculpture is obvious, making her work great value.
Furui Akiko was born in Aichi prefecture in 1987. She graduated the Aichi University of Education in 2010, and had her first pieces exhibited both in and out of Japan that same year. She has since been featured in a number of events both domestic and abroad. A rising star in the Sculptural Ceramics World, she is, along with Shingu Sayaka and Tanaka Tomomi, an artist with a strong following and a distinct style all her own.

A Mizusashi in signature peach colored glaze by Yamaguchi Michie enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Momo-yu Mizusashi. It comes with a shiny black lacquered lid, which contrasts wonderfully with the matte pink glaze. It is roughly 20 cm (8 inches) diameter, 18 cm (7-1/4 inches) tall and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Yamaguchi Michie was born in Aichi prefecture in 1964, and came to pottery at the age of 35, opening her studio in Nagoya in 2003. She first exhibited with the Nitten National Art Exhibition in 2008. In 2009 she was accepted into the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramic exhibition, where she has been subsequently awarded. That same year she was recipient of the Shorei-sho prize at the Kobe Biennale, and she entered for the first time the Womans Association of Ceramic Artists (WACA) Exhibition, receiving the T-shi prize. In 2011 she would be awarded at the Kikuchi Biennale, the 45th Female Artist Exhibition, as well as the Nihon Shin Kogeiten National New Crafts Exhibition. She would also first enter the International Ceramics Festival in Mino. 2012 saw her work awarded at the Mino Togei Shorokusho Chawan Ten Tea Bowl exhibition as well as the Mino Togei Ceramic Exhibition. In 2014 she was prized at the Hagi Taisho-ten show. She was awarded again in 2017 at the 43rd Mino Togeiten, and Governors prize at the 54th WACA Exhibition in 2020. In 2021 she was awarded the 43rd Nihon Shin Kogeiten New Crafts Exhibition, as well as the Kasama Togei Taishou Ten and in 2022 at the Tobi Ceramic Art Society of Japan Exhibition. She has taken part in ceramic events in Europe and Korea, and her work is held in the Toshin Ceramic Museum.

A small lapping cluster like a flower bulb in sand-textured earthtones by Yamaguchi Mio, a rare very small piece which can easily fill a nook in a collection. It is 8.5 x 9.5 x 8.5 cm (roughly 3-1/2 inches diameter) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden box, which will be ordered upon sale.
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 masterpiece by Shigaraki Icon Koyama Kiyoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Mentori Hanaire. She was well known for both her Mentori works, and the exuberant amount of ash accumulated from the 10 plus day firings of her kiln. This is a prime example of both those features. It is 24.5 cm (just udner 10 inches) diameter, roughly the same height, and in excellent condition.
Koyama Kiyoko was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1936. Following the second world war the family moved to Shiga prefecture, eventually settling in the pottery village of Shigaraki. She took a job as a ceramic painter's assistant at a young age. In 1954 she began to work as a pottery decorator in Shigaraki under Nakashima Takamitsu. Later she moved to Kyoto to study Kenzan ware and Sometsuke under Yoshitake Eijiro. Aged 27 she began working in earnest in clay and studying clay technique under Misawa Kenzo. Enthralled by an ancient pot shard with natural blue ash glaze, she sought to recreate this effect in modern times, building her own kiln and repeatedly firing, searching for that magic point, but slowly pushing the family toward insolvency. Not only was she attempting to break barriers with the pots she created, but she was forced to break barriers in a male dominated world where women were prohibited from the wood fired kiln as unworthy. She did have her supporters of course, and with their help and persistence and ever longer firings she eventually succeeded in finding that blue. Kiyoko has a list of shows and prizes which would fill pages, including the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Nihon Togei Ten Ceramic Exhibition, the Asahi Togei Ten Ceramics Exhibition as well as many international exhibitions. Her son Koyama Kenichi (1961-1992) worked to take over the family kiln, but succumbed to Leukemia after a long fight. Their story is the subject of the film Hi-Bi (2005) and the recent NHK television drama Scarlet. She is the preeminent pioneering female wood firing artist in Japan, and bore the brunt of centuries of discrimination against women. Through it all she persevered to become one of the most highly sought of Shigaraki potters. For more on her works see Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections, Japan Society New York, 1993

An ash glazed vase with elongated neck by Koyama Kiyoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Tsurukubi Hanaire. It is 22.5 cm (9 inche) tall, 18.5 cm (7-1/4 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Koyama Kiyoko was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1936. Following the second world war the family moved to Shiga prefecture, eventually settling in the pottery village of Shigaraki. She took a job as a ceramic painter's assistant at a young age. In 1954 she began to work as a pottery decorator in Shigaraki under Nakashima Takamitsu. Later she moved to Kyoto to study Kenzan ware and Sometsuke under Yoshitake Eijiro. Aged 27 she began working in earnest in clay and studying clay technique under Misawa Kenzo. Enthralled by an ancient pot shard with natural blue ash glaze, she sought to recreate this effect in modern times, building her own kiln and repeatedly firing, searching for that magic point, but slowly pushing the family toward insolvency. Not only was she attempting to break barriers with the pots she created, but she was forced to break barriers in a male dominated world where women were prohibited from the wood fired kiln as unworthy. She did have her supporters of course, and with their help and persistence and ever longer firings she eventually succeeded in finding that blue. Kiyoko has a list of shows and prizes which would fill pages, including the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Nihon Togei Ten Ceramic Exhibition, the Asahi Togei Ten Ceramics Exhibition as well as many international exhibitions. Her son Koyama Kenichi (1961-1992) worked to take over the family kiln, but succumbed to Leukemia after a long fight. Their story is the subject of the film Hi-Bi (2005) and the recent NHK television drama Scarlet. She is the preeminent pioneering female wood firing artist in Japan, and bore the brunt of centuries of discrimination against women. Through it all she persevered to become one of the most highly sought of Shigaraki potters. For more on her works see Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections, Japan Society New York, 1993. Unfortunately, she passed away just two weeks before this show began.

A breathtaking white form of draped porcelain by Nagae Shigekazu enclosed in the original signed wooden box with the original Daimaru Department Store exhibition invitation. Light patterns are almost indiscernible on the surface, incredibly detailed and crisp when viewed close-up. What is surprising about this work is the weight, incredibly light. The piece measures 16 x 16 x 5 inches (41 x 41 x 12 cm) and is in excellent condition. Due to fragility this piece will require special shipping consideration.
Shigekazu (b. 1953) graduated the Seto Industrial School of Ceramics in 1974 Beginning to grab attention in the late 70s, he has striven to perfect porcelain casting techniques, creating one-off shapes and forms previously impossible. He is held in the collection of the V&A (London), LACMA (Los Angeles) and the National Gallery of Australia, Cincinnati and Cleveland Art Museums, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Japan Foundation and many many others. With very low output, this is a rare opportunity to join the worlds top museum collections by acquiring this artist.

A Beautiful bowl in crackled white set into a lattice like structure of raw porcelain pierced with a plethora of various sized holes by Kato Yoshiyasu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Haku-yu no wan (White Glazed Bowl). It is 12.5 cm (5 inches) diameter, 10 cm (4 inches) tall and in excellent condition, from the artist this year.
Kato Yoshiyasu was born in Aichi prefecture in 1985, and graduated the Kurashiki Kogei Crafts School design department in 2008. He then went on to study at the Tajimi Ceramics Research Facility, finishing there in 2014. He moved to Nshio city in 2018, where he set up a studio and works today while raising a cute little baby with his wife.

Ash simply blankets this vessel by Koyama Kiyoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Tetsuki Hanaire. It is 29 cm (just less than 12 inches) tall, roughly 5 inches diameter and in excellent condition.
Koyama Kiyoko was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1936. Following the second world war the family moved to Shiga prefecture, eventually settling in the pottery village of Shigaraki. She took a job as a ceramic painter's assistant at a young age. In 1954 she began to work as a pottery decorator in Shigaraki under Nakashima Takamitsu. Later she moved to Kyoto to study Kenzan ware and Sometsuke under Yoshitake Eijiro. Aged 27 she began working in earnest in clay and studying clay technique under Misawa Kenzo. Enthralled by an ancient pot shard with natural blue ash glaze, she sought to recreate this effect in modern times, building her own kiln and repeatedly firing, searching for that magic point, but slowly pushing the family toward insolvency. Not only was she attempting to break barriers with the pots she created, but she was forced to break barriers in a male dominated world where women were prohibited from the wood fired kiln as unworthy. She did have her supporters of course, and with their help and persistence and ever longer firings she eventually succeeded in finding that blue. Kiyoko has a list of shows and prizes which would fill pages, including the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Nihon Togei Ten Ceramic Exhibition, the Asahi Togei Ten Ceramics Exhibition as well as many international exhibitions. Her son Koyama Kenichi (1961-1992) worked to take over the family kiln, but succumbed to Leukemia after a long fight. Their story is the subject of the film Hi-Bi (2005) and the recent NHK television drama Scarlet. She is the preeminent pioneering female wood firing artist in Japan, and bore the brunt of centuries of discrimination against women. Through it all she persevered to become one of the most highly sought of Shigaraki potters. For more on her works see Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections, Japan Society New York, 1993. Unfortunately she passed away just two weeks before this show started.

Tarnished beaded silver is draped in gold over which runs a deep forest green on this apple shaped chawan by innovative artist Ichikawa Toru enclosed in the original signed wooden box. A thick gold tinged bead dangles from one side, and bubbly dark glaze pools within. It is 11.5 cm (4-1/2 inches9 diameter and in excellent condition. He really takes things to the extreme, challenging and yet incorporating something of the idea of Wabi into his outlandish works.
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 masterpiece by Kato Shigetaka, this bowl is very powerful, and I am not one to wax too longingly on individual pieces. In short: he nailed it with this bowl which comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kuro Chawan. It is 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 9 cm (3-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Kato Shigetaka (1927-2013) was born the son of legendary revivalist Kato Tokuro, his older brother the legendary rebel Okabe Mineo. Shigetaka graduated the Seto Industrial School of Ceramics and studied under his father. From 1959-1971 submitted annually to the Nitten where he received the Hokutosho prize as well as the Modern Ceramics Prize among others, and later governors prize at the Asahi Togeiten Ceramic Exhibition. He also was recipient of the prestigious Japanese Ceramics Society Award. He accompanied his father on frequent trips to China and Central Asia for research into the roots of silk road pottery. He was extremely talented and worked the gamut of Mino and Seto styles.

Namako mottled dark blue glaze covers the fractured surface of this guinomi sake cup by Kashima Aya enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The technique is deceptively complex. In fact the initial form is created, then a thin layer of ceramic is made separately, dried, then cracked, and the individual pieces are applied like mosaic to the prepared form. Each the space in between the tiles is then abraded, the tiles glazed with color and the space n between glazed with iron. Each piece requires a great amount of painstaking dedication to complete. It is 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter, 5.5 cm (just over 2 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Kashima Aya was born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1987. She graduated the Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University, Department of Arts and Culture in 2010. She graduated the Tajimi City Ceramic Design Institute Design Course in 2020, with an additional two years in their advanced Ceramic Lab, graduating in 2022. During this time, she took part in many group exhibitions. She received Nyusen status at the 55th Women's Association of Ceramic Artists (WACA) Exhibition in 2021. In 2023 her work was selected for presentation at the “Ceramic Synergy Exhibition” held at the Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art.

A quintessential Mimitsuki Mizusashi with loop handles by die hard Takahashi Rakusai enclosed in the original signed wooden box. This is a superb example of the form by master of the tradition. It retains both the original pottery lid and custom made black lacquered wood Kae-buta lid. The vessel is 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) diameter, 17.5 cm (7 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Takahashi Takusai IV was born the eldest son of the 3rd generation Rakusai in Shigaraki in 1925, given name Mitsuo. Trained under his father, in 1973 he was invited to exhibit in Los Angeles where he lectured at the University of California. He took the name Rakusai in 1976. A die hard proponent of tradition, in 1991 he received the International Arts and Culture Award from the Japan Foundation for the Promotion of Culture.

A small flaring sake cup by Fukami Sueharu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seihakuji Guinomi. It is 7.7 cm (3 inches) diameter and in perfect condition.
Fukami Sueharu is synonymous with seihakuji celadon. He has been displayed numerous times at the prestigious Nitten, Nihon Togei Ten (National Japanese Ceramic Exhibition) and Nihon Gendai Kogei Ten (National Japanese Modern Crafts Exhibition) among others. He is held in the Yale University Museum among others. For more information on this artist a quick web-search, or a look at the article highlighting his life in the March 2005 edition of Orientations Magazine will be enlightening. The list of museums holding his work is, in fact, much to long for this page, but includes the National Museums of Modern Art, Tokyo /Kyoto / and Osaka, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Philadelphia St. Louis, Portland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Smithsonian, British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Musée national de céramique, Sèvres, Musée des arts décoratifs, Paris, Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf and the National Gallery of Australia among many others

A deep wan-gata bowl swept with swirling Zen brush-strokes over earthen glaze by veteran female artist Shigemori Yoko enclosed ina wooden box titled O-Chawan (Big Tea Bowl). It is 13.5 cm (5-1/4 inches) diameter, 9.5 cm (just less than 4 inches) tall and in perfect condition, directly from the artist’ family and comes enclosed in a wooden box annotated by her nephew.
Shigemori Yoko (1953-2021) was born in Kagoshima. Yoko came to Kyoto where she initially studied painting at the Kyoto Tankidai Art College, then moved to ceramics at the Kyoto Municipal Art University where she studied traditional pottery techniques under Kondo Yutaka before entering advanced courses under avant-garde Yagi Kazuo, graduating in 1979. Her first solo exhibitions were held while still a student at Gallery Iteza in Kyoto. She eschewed the world of competitive exhibitions in favor of the intimacy of private galleries, and her list of solo exhibitions is expansive. She received the Yagi Kazuo prize in 1986 and 1988 at the Nihon Gendai Togeiten National Modern Ceramics Exhibition. She was one of five artists featured in Toh, volume 76, the first issue dedicated to Kyoto potters. Toh was, at the time

The fire is still alive on this striking Shigaraki Tsubo by Furutani Taketoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Yohen Tsubo. Yohen, literally translated Kiln-altered, is a word for the unexpected results, or fortuitous accidents of firing. In this case, they are likely speaking of the unusual coloration of the running ash wrapping around the blackened surface. Kiln effects are what this family is known for, and this does not disappoint. It is 27.5 x 27.5 x 33.5 cm (11 inches diameter, 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.

Straight out of a Miyazaki Hayao fantasy is this Future Fossil Series Koro incense burner by Watanabe Takuma which comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Koro Mirai Kaseki (future Fossil). It is 13 cm (5 inches diameter, 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist this summer.
Watanabe Takuma was born in Hyogo prefecture in 1968, and after graduating Kansai Daigaku University in 1991, began studying Bizen ware under Yamauchi Atsushi. In 1996 he entered the Bixen Toen Kiln. Shortly thereafter he began exhibiting and has receied numerous awards at the Okayama Prefectural Exhibition (Okayama Ken Bijutsu ten), National Traditional Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dento Kogeiten), Issui-kai-ten, as well as being selected for the influential Tanabe Museum Modern Forms in Tea Exhibition among others. He built his own kin in 2006.

A sculptural form covered in iconic Iga Kiln effects by Toyosaki Nobuhiko of the Korin-kiln in Mie prefecture enclosed in the original signed wooden box. On the convex shoulder, green glass pools crystalline, while a smattering of goma (sesame) ash clings to the bulbous side, gray charring and plenty of flying ash to fill in the blanks. It is 25 cm (10 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Born in 1955, he graduated Kyoto’s Ritsumeikan University department of Science and Engineering in 1980 before enrolling in the Seto Ceramic Research Facility. In 1982 he moved to Toki City where he apprenticed under the Iga master Kishimoto Kennin. In 1988 he returned to his hometown, establishing his own kiln that same year. He has remained focused on private venues and the intimacy of the private exhibition.

A trumpeting fluted form covered in igneous blasted ash by Iga legend Kojima Kenji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Ruiza Hanaire. Ruiza is the name of these small circular studs which decorate the vase between the flutes near the rim. It seems to dance on the table, the form bent as if in a twirl. This vessel, very organic in formation, is 25 cm (10 inches) tall, roughly 15 cm (6 inches) diameter at the top, and is in excellent condition.
Kojima Kenji was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1953 and graduated from the Tokoname Ceramic Vocational High School in 1971. In 1973 he spent a year in Iga before moving to Bizen for a five year apprenticeship with Konishi Tozo. He returned to Iga in 1979 and built an anagama. He has exhibited with the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramic Exhibition, Asahi Togeiten Ceramic Art Exhibition and Chunichi International Ceramic Exhibition as well as an impressive list of solo exhibitions in some of Japan’s top galleries.

A striking floral image decorates this odd shaped guinomi made to not be put down by Mizumoto Kayoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Obana Guinomi. An Obana is a male flower, or a flower with only stamens and no pistils; lacking female reproductive function. The cup is 6.5 x 12 x 7 cm (2-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 3 inches) and is in excellent condition, dating from last year.
Mizumoto Kayoko was born in Ishikawa, home to the Kutani Ceramic Tradition, in 1971. She initially apprenticed in Yuzen Textile dying, where she worked for seven years, before teaching herself basic pottery techniques beginning in 1999. Having come to the traditiaonl Kutani world from outside, she was free to develop her own voice unfettered by traditional influences. In 2001 she entered a traditional kiln where she mastered the craft, and established her own kiln in 2010. Her work ahs been featured in prominent shows both in and out of Japan.

A striking Tenmoku Vase by maser of the genre Kamada Koji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Ginsho Tenmoku Hyo-gata Kabin. It is 15cm (6 inches) diameter, 31cm (12 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Kamada Koji (sometimes written Kamata) was born in Kyoto in 1948, and apprenticed under Shimizu Tadashi from the age of 19. In 1971 he graduated from the Kyoto Prefectural Ceramics Research facility and began teaching there while beginning his research into Tenmoku ware. The following year he was accepted into the Nihon Dento Kogeiten Traditional Crafts Exhibition, and in 1975 the bi-annual Japan Ceramics Exhibition (Nihon Togeiten). In 1977 he quit teaching in order to devote his full talents to exploring the possibilities of his medium. In 1988 he would enter under the wing of Living National Treasure Shimizu uichi, undeniably one of the leading experts in the field at that time. Since his work has ben exhibited widely both domestically and in Europe and the Americas. He is held in the collection of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and Philadelphia Museum among others. For more see Japanese Ceramics for the Twenty-first Century, (Walters Art Museum, 2014) or Into the Fold: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection (Nagakura, 2015).

Sweeping arcs filled with liquefied green ash cross this large flat platter by Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hai-yu Shinonome Sara. Shinonome is written East Cloud, and is a poetic term for Dawn, or clouds wavering in the early light of Dawn. Here he has brought the rim out to a razors edge, no easy feat for this rough clay. The vessel is 31 cm (over 12 inches) diameter and in perfect condition. We have the only two the artist ever made, and he said they were so difficult he will not make them again.
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.

A spectacular large vase by Kashima Aya featured at the “Ceramic Synergy Exhibition” held at the Kyoto Kyocera Museum of Art in late 2023. In fact, the initial form is created, then a thin layer of ceramic is made separately, dried, then cracked, and the individual pieces are applied like mosaic to the prepared form. The space in between the tiles is then abraded, the tiles glazed with color and the space n between glazed with iron. Each piece requires a great amount of painstaking dedication to complete. It is 26 cm (10 inches) diameter, 52.5 cm (20-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes in a signed wooden box with a copy of the Museum exhibition pamphlet upon which it is visible.
Kashima Aya was born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1987. She graduated the Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University, Department of Arts and Culture in 2010. She graduated the Tajimi City Ceramic Design Institute Design Course in 2020, with an additional two years in their advanced Ceramic Lab, graduating in 2022. During this time, she took part in many group exhibitions. She received Nyusen status at the 55th Women's Association of Ceramic Artists (WACA) Exhibition in 2021.

A large broad-footed bowl with precipitous sides covered in black matte glaze by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a signed wooden box titled Kuro-yu Utsuwa (Black-glazed Vessel) The surface is richly textured, with a slight outward curve at the rim over a raw line scored into the surface. Windows of light like the moon fighting its way through the stormy autumn sky break through the darkness. It is 14 cm (5-3/4 inches) diameter, 10.5 cm (4-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. The box is 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 new series, experimenting with his recently developed glossy white glaze, a chawan with iron decoration by Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Haku-yu Chawan. It is 12 x 13 x 8 cm (4-3/4 x 5 x 3-1/4 inches) and is in perfect condition, directly from the artist this Fall.
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.

The cloth textured surface seems to glow warm like the promise of warm days to come, cherries blossoming wide on this sake set by Ito Motohiko enclosed in the original signed wooden boxes. The Guinomi is 7.5cm (3 inches) diameter 3.5cm (1-1/2 inches) tall. The Tokkuri is 9.5cm (just less than 4 inches) diameter, 14.5cm (just less than 6 inches) tall and both are in excellent condition.
Ito Motohiko is a famous Kasama potter, best known for his nunome pattern and exceptional designs. Motohiko was born in Fukuoka prefecture, 1939, and graduated the Tokyo University of Art in 1964, then moved on to advanced courses there, finishing in 1966. While at University he studied under Kato Hajime and Fujimoto Yoshimichi. It was in 1967 his first piece was accepted into the 6th Modern National Crafts Exhibition, and the next year would be spent working under to-be-Living National Treasure Matsui Kosei. His list of prizes and exhibitions is much too long to reproduce, but since 1967, he has Exhibited with the Nihon Dento Kogeiten, Nihon Dento Kogei Shinsaku Ten, Dento Kogei Musashino Ten, Tanabe Museum Modern Tea Forms Exhibition, been the subject of an NHK Television documentary, and participated in a ridiculous number of private exhibits at many of Japans top venues, and has been purchased by the Heisei Emperor in person as well as receiving the Shijuho-sho prize from his majesty.

A sculptural vessel by Yamaguchi Michie enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled heel. This is a fabulous representative work by this artist, in her signature peach glaze, something a little bit zesty. Yamaguchi sensei will tell you she is captivated by the beauty of the female form, and she seeks to imbue her works with that feminie grace. It could serve as a vase or simply be displayed on its own as an obje't. This piece is 8 x 23.5 x 14 cm (3 x 9 x 5-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Yamaguchi Michie was born in Aichi prefecture in 1964, and came to pottery at the age of 35, opening her studio in Nagoya in 2003. She first exhibited with the Nitten National Art Exhibition in 2008. In 2009 she was accepted into the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramic exhibition, where she has been subsequently awarded. That same year she was recipient of the Shorei-sho prize at the Kobe Biennale, and she entered for the first time the Womans Association of Ceramic Artists (WACA) Exhibition, receiving the T-shi prize. In 2011 she would be awarded at the Kikuchi Biennale, the 45th Female Artist Exhibition, as well as the Nihon Shin Kogeiten National New Crafts Exhibition. She would also first enter the International Ceramics Festival in Mino. 2012 saw her work awarded at the Mino Togei Shorokusho Chawan Ten Tea Bowl exhibition as well as the Mino Togei Ceramic Exhibition. In 2014 she was prized at the Hagi Taisho-ten show. She was awarded again in 2017 at the 43rd Mino Togeiten, and Governors prize at the 54th WACA Exhibition in 2020. In 2021 she was awarded the 43rd Nihon Shin Kogeiten New Crafts Exhibition, as well as the Kasama Togei Taishou Ten and in 2022 at the Tobi Ceramic Art Society of Japan Exhibition. She has taken part in ceramic events in Europe and Korea, and her work is held in the Toshin Ceramic Museum.

A small peach-colored pebble shaped vase by Yamaguchi Michie enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The opening undulates in an organic manner, accentuating the natural state of the form. It is 17 x 15 x 14 cm and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Yamaguchi Michie was born in Ichinomiya, Aichi, between the Seto and Mino pottery centers in 1964. Her works have been seen at the Nitten National Art Exhibition, Nihon Togeiten National Ceramic Art Exhibition, As well as Korea, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. She established her own kiln and studio in Northern Nagoya in 2003. She has been awarded at the Nihon Shin-Kogeiten National New Crafts Exhibition, Kikuchi Biennale, Mino Togeiten, Kobe Biennale, as well as the aforementioned Nitten, Joryuten and Nihon Togeiten, among many others.

Every surface of this large tsubo by Furutani Taketoshi has been cut away in ascending and descending chevrons down the fire side of which crystalline glazes form in pools where the descending chevrons meet. On the fringes of the blast of ash are various shades of red while opposite shiseki inclusions bubble out from the raw pale clay. It is 32 cm (13 inches diameter) 37 cm (15 inches) tall and in excellent condition, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen Yu Shinogi Tsubo, 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 undulating ceramic sculpture of overlapping layers reminiscent of a scholar stone by Yamaguchi Mio titled Wakuraba. Wakuraba is a word from the Manyoshu, it implies a leaf which has changed color due to age or insects (like a late summer leaf yellowing in comparison to leaves around it) or on a completely different level can mean to suddenly and unexpectedly meet. It is roughly 38 cm (15 inches) diameter, 83 cm (32-1/2 inches) tall and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. This piece was runner up for top prize at the Kasama Ceramic Triennale.
Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately.
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 gourd shaped black Bizen Tokkuri by Oiwa Tomoyuki enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kuro Tokkuri. A pleasure to view, the off-kilter form is blasted with powdery dry ash on one side which turns to molten rivulets on the edges crawling around to bead up on the opposite dark shiny clay. The Tokkuri 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Acquired on our recent trip to Bizen in June.
Oiwa Tomoyuki was born in Hyogo prefecture in 1977, and graduated the Bizen Ceramic Center in 2004. The following year he came to study under the outsider Kakurezaki Ryuichi, where he would remain for 8 years, garnering a lifetime worth of knowledge from the master before going independent. In 2014 he built a half-submerged tunnel kiln (anagama), completing his first firing in 2015. He has since been featured widely and is known for sell out shows, especially for his sake vessels.

A seminal Karatsu fresh water container by master of that style Nakagawa Jinenbo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Chossen Karatsu Mizusashi. Raw earth is supplanted with rich iron into which flows curtains of black into which flows rivulets of blue. Two lug handles drape from the sides and it retains the original ceramic lid. It is 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) diameter, 17.5 cm 7 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Nakagawa Jinenbo (1953-2011) was always fascinated with Karatsu ware, and studied under the great Inoue Toya from the age of 24. Several years later he returned to his hometown to establish a climbing kiln of his own, which he put to great use. From there, not satisfied with his own skills, he went to Tanaka Sajiro for an additional apprenticeship. Afterwards, as many Chajin artists, he concentrated on private exhibitions as an outlet for his work, shunning the world of mass competition and retail. His life and career were cut short far too early, making his work both highly valued and hard to find.

Caribbean-Blue glass fills this crusty earthen bowl by Ogawa Machiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Saiyu Bachi. It is roughly 27cm (11 inches) diameter, 10 cm (4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Ogawa Machiko was born in Sapporo on the Northern Island of Hokkaido in 1946. She studied under future Living National Treasures Fujimoto Yoshimichi, Tamura Koichi and Kato Hajime at the Tokyo University of Arts, graduating in 1969, then went on to further studies in France and Africa, returning to Japan in 1975. She began garnering attention in the mid eighties, and has since become one of the leading female figures in Japanese pottery. She was awarded the JCS prize in 2001, one of Japans most prestigious awards. Work by her is held in the Brooklyn Art Museum, LACMA, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smith College, MIA, MOMAT and a host of others. For more see “Touch Fire, Contemporary Ceramics by Women Artists” (2009) or Toh, volume 67 (1993). For more information see the current exhibition Radical Clay at the Chicago Art Institute.

A fluted ceramic sculpture by Yamaguchi Mio titled Sekai no Kyokai (Border of worlds). Thin earthen glaze covers the scalloping growth, like mushrooms or barnacles. It is 27 x 13 x 6 cm (11 x 5 x 2-1/4 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
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 11th International 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 playful Dragon rises from this genuine stone base, a sculpture perfect for the coming year of the Dragon by popular contemporary artist Sugitani Keizo. 18 x 15 x 25 cm (7-1/2 x 6 x 10 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. The creature floats slightly over the stone base on a copper stud set into the stone. It comes accompanied by a signed certificate, directly from the artist.
Sugitani Keizo was born in Osaka in 1959. In 1982 he graduated the Ceramic Art Institute of the Tekisui Museum of Art. He has selected for a number of group exhibitions including the International Ceramics Competition Mino and the Asahi Art exhibition, where he has been awarded. He has been exhibited at some of Japans top galleries as well as London, Art Miami, Maastricht, New York, Taipei and Shanghai among others.

The flattened surface of this elevated dish is scored by the artist fingers and covered in a smattering of green ash glaze by Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titeld Hai-yu Yubi-mon Sara. It is 23 x 20 x 5 cm (10 x 8 x 2 inches) and in perfect condition, directly from the artist.
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.

A dramatic Shino Mizusashi covered in flowing glaze by Sakai Kobu enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 20 cm tall, 19cm diameter and in excellent condition.
“I follow no teacher. I take no disciples. Independent, I don't get along well with public exhibitions”. Kobu Sakai from Toki City, one of Japan’s ceramic heartlands, has mastered Shino through self-study. He succeeded a kiln mass producing generic pottery, but decided he wanted to make his own works. “I walked around the nearby mountains and fields. Any piece of pottery that I encountered in an old kiln became my teacher. His works have been shown in solo exhibitions at department stores, and in 2002, he was designated as an intangible cultural property of Toki City. The 85 year old is well known for developing in the 1990s a blue Shino glaze using Cobalt and Iron Oxides known as Heki-Shino which shocked traditional ideas.

A beautiful Shigaraki Chaire Tea urn by Matsuo Takaaki enclosed in the original signed wooden box measuring 5.5 cm (2 inches) diameter, 8 cm (3 inches) tall in excellent condition. Matsuo Takaaki was born in Yokohama in 1938. He began studies under Tsuji Seimei at Renkoji in 1960 where he trained for over 15 years. He became independent in 1975 and built a climbing kiln in Tama. Since he has been exhibited with the Issuikai but mainly focuses on the intimacy of private exhibitions.

Ash flows through and fills the deeply crevassed surface of this closed bottle form by Furutani Hirofumi (Churoku II) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Kuchi Jime Yohen Hanaire. All one must do is turn it a few degrees to get a new aspect or a new point of contemplation. Shinshoku, blasted green, olive fingering, and charcoal black all studded with the famous Shiseki of Shigaraki. It is 18.5 cm (7-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Furutani Hirofumi (b. 1948) is the real deal, a Shigaraki potter trained under his father, recipient of tradition and knowledge who does not say much. After graduating school, he went to work in a large production kiln where he studied firing technique and clay preparation. He then returned to the family studio where he headed up the preparation and firing, while, taking a second position in that respectful Japanese way to his long-lived father, who strictly tortured clay, relying on his son to do all the “real work.” The Japanese title for such a person is: Ennoshita no chikara mochi (The true strength hidden under the eaves). A decade after the passing of Churoku, every day you will find him in search of the natural phenomena born from the dialog between soil and flame and the elements. He oversees kneading and preparing the clay, as well as the kiln work, stacking and preparations for firing, creating his own pieces while allowing his son to take the fore. He is not competing or seeking fame, just quietly making pots in that very Japanese way, treading the path of the Unknown Craftsman.

A novel look at the Onioke idea of a handled vase, this one rising like Devils Tower to a narrow opening crossed by a handle by Nishihata Tadashi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yohen Oke-gata Hanaire. It is 31.5 cm (12-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Nishihata Tadashi was born in Sasayama in the mountains of Hyogo, and ancient castle town in 1948. He began potting in 1969, focusing on items for use. In 1986 he first entered the realm of public exhibitions with his entry into the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition in 1986. He was awarded in 1988 at the Kinki Kogeiten regional Crafts fair. In 1989 he would see the first of many awards at the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition as well as a first time entry into the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. In 1990 he would continue garnering fame with the first of several awards at the Tanabe Art Museum Chanoyu no Zokei Ten (Modern Forms in Tea). After that his career has escalated, with many more recognitions at these Expositions. For more see the recently acquired piece by Tadashi at the Asia Pacific Art Museum in San Francisco

A masterpiece by contemporary ceramic legend Morino (Hiroaki) Taimei enclosed in the original signed wooden box showing his famous Kujaku (Peacock) design. It is 15.5 x 31.5cm x 34cm (6 x 12 x 13-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.
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 Fitz-gerald Collection.

This amazing piece, fresh from the kiln in April, is titled Mio, perhaps a play on the artists name, this kanji character meaning water which has pooled and collected. When looking at this piece, all the glaze has run down the body, filling the scalloping exfoliation with pools of lapiz blue. It is 27 x 30 x 58 cm (11 x 12 x 23 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Due to size this will require special shipping consideration.
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 11th International 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 large ceramic sculpture by Yamaguchi Mio titled O-ga-tamanoki The O-gatama no Ki is a tree usually found within shrine precincts which is said to invite the gods to come. Mio often finds her inspiration in teh natural world, or that space between the natural world and the world beyond. The sculpture is 25 x 29 x 61.5 cm (10 x 11-1/2 x 24-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden placard.
Due to size and weight this will require special shipping consideration.
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 11th International 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 30 cm (1 foot) square cube in oxidized lunar color by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. By volume this seems in person much larger than it actually is. 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.

Wet swirls of color, lavender and thin blue fringed with yellow decorated this odd shaped slab-ware vase by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a signed wooden box titled Murasaki no Hi (Purple Days). This is a work in unusual style by one of our favorite female artists. It is 22x 8.5 x 19.5 cm (9 x 3-1/4 x 8 inches) and is in excellent condition enclosed in a 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

An elongated Kutsugata Chawan, the sloughing ash glaze interrupted by swaths of running iron, which turn to rivulets on the roughly textured outside, while forming a black pool in the center of the bowl. Surprisingly comfortable, it has a definite drinking point at one narrow end, the rich dark lagoon revealed as one tips up to take the last sip. It is 16 x 12 x 8 cm (6-1/4 x 5 x 2-1/4 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
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.

One of the best I have ever seen by him. A metallic Shino Chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oni Shino Yohen O-Chawan and named inside Rokugo (also read Rikugo) which is something to do with the ancient concept of the tertiary levels of heaven and earth. Rokugo is outside the Human realm, the universe, the heavens. It is 5-1/2 inches (14 cm) diameter, 4 inches (10 cm) tall and in excellent condition complete with silk pouch and double wood black lacquered outer box with original naming paper by Nahiko.
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.

Vibrant colors and glistening gold decorate this leaf shaped sculpture by Matsuda Yuriko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled HASU (Lotus Leaf). It is roughly 37 cm (15 inches) diameter and 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 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). Her work is also currently on tour with the Radical Clay Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Gold gleams in subtle wisps on the rim, and silver shimmers through tarnished metal glaze on this dark vessel by by Sakata Jinnai enclosed in the original signed wood box titled Saishoku Mizusashi. An intriguing combination of glazes over a modernist form, enigmatic patterns like fletching cascade down the dark sides, and iridescent clouds glimmer subtly on the surface with tinges of blue showing through about the shoulder. Amazing when moving in the light, it is very difficult to capture this in photographs. It is 15 cm (5-3/4 inches) diameter, 18.5 cm (7-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Sakata Jinnai was born in Tokyo in 1943, and began as an apprentice under the legendary Kamoda Shoji in 1964, establishing his first kiln in 1966. His work was selected for display at the Nihon Dento Kogei Shinsaku Ten (National Traditional New Crafts Exhibition) in 1969, and the following year the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition). In 1971 his work could be seen at the first Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. This event would tour the United States and Canada as well. Two years later he would be seen there again, and this time the show would tour South America. In 1977 he would move away from the competitive world of mass exhibitions and focus more on private galleries. He was the first artist selected for display at the newly opened Takashimaya Gallery in New York in 1993. Work by him is held in the collection of the British Museum, Rockefeller Foundation, Sakuma Museum, Waseda Universty Museum, as well as some of Japans holiest sites such as Ise Shrine, Izumo Shrine, Takachiho Shrine, Yakushiji in Nara and both Kodaiji and Enryakuji Temples in Kyoto. Not limited to clay, he also works in painting, Washi hand made paper (from 1995), and glass (from 2000).

Widely fissured pale green glaze covers the elegant form of this fresh water jar for use in the Japanese Tea Ceremony by Uraguchi Masauyuki enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Seiji Mizusashi. It is 12.5 cm (5 inches) tall, 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. It comes complete with the original black lacquered wooden lid.
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

An eye catching sculpture by Yaaguchi Mio titled Meta in soft brown terracotta clay spattered lightly with Namako glaze. It is 23 x 25 x 39.5 cm (9 x 10 x just less than 16 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden placard.
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 11th International 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 small object like bound chords in raw white porcelain clay by Goto Miho accompanied by the original signed wooden box titled Heartbeat of the Skin. The looping object bound tightly in the center stirs mixed emotions, both reminiscent of bondage as well as the celebratory twisted rope talismans displayed at New years and in front of holy places. It is 8 x 7 x 11 cm (roughly 3 x 3 x 4-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. When prompted about her message she said: I feel that there is something vaguely present that is never visible in my everyday life. It always speaks to me like a pulse beating deep within my thin skin, insisting on its existence. Although I have been expressing myself through painting for nearly ten years, now that I think about it, I feel like I've always been struggling to discover its true identity.
When I encountered ceramics for the first time, I suddenly felt that I had found the means to respond to this vague phantom within.
In this medium I constantly interact with unknown experiences; I am able to feel a certain sense of this diaphanous existence and create works through which I can touch people's five senses; gradually giving back to society. For the first time, I feel like I am a part of this world.
Goto Miho entered the ceramics course at Osaka University of Arts in 2021, already an advanced student initially trained in painting. She was awarded at the 14th Prince Takamado Memorial Netsuke Competition in 2022. In 2023 whe entered Ceramic Design Institute of Tajimi City, and the same year was recipient of the 9th Contemporary Art and Culture Foundation Ceramic Artist Support Grant. Her work was also selected for the Ceramic Synergy Exhibition held at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art. This is the first time her work has been offered to an overseas audience.

An exquisite work of art like an opalized tear drop by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 54 cm (21-1/2 inches) tall, 26 cm (10 inches) diameter and in perfect condition.
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.

Wow! A wide slab banded with galactic color which stands at a striking angle, challenging our sense of spatial cognizance by Hashimoto Tomonari. Created in 2023, it is 48 x 15 x 37 cm (18 x 6 x 14-1/2 inches) and is in prefect condition, directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden placard titled, as are all his sculptures, untitled.
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 glowering charred dark sake cup by Matsuo Takaaki enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Shizen-yu Youhen Nozoki Hai. It is 6cm (just over 2 inches) diameter, 7.5cm (3 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Matsuo Takaaki was born in Yokohama in 1938. He began studies under Tsuji Seimei at Renkoji in 1960 where he trained for over 15 years. He became independent in 1975 and built a climbing kiln in Tama. Since he has been exhibited with the Issuikai but mainly focuses on the intimacy of private exhibitions.

A colorful Guinomi Sake cup by Shibata Masamitsu enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The design, while technically perfect, is playful with soft colors which allow the viewer a childish sense of wonder. It is 6 cm diameter, 7.5 cm (3 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Shibata Masamitsu was born in Toki City, the heart of Mino country, in 1961. After graduating from Kyotos Ritsumeikan Daigaku University, He spent a year at the Tajimi Ceramics Research Facility. His work is an extension of his personality, a little quirky, a little cute, always colorful!

Blue glaze fills in the embedded patterns in this Tokkuri by Living National Treasure Shimaoka Tatsuzo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Gosu Zogan Jomon Tokkuri. The vibrant blue is 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 15 cm (6 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.