Catalog: Artists: Ceramics (702)

An elegant set of 5 oil spot glazed tea bowls with crackled white interiors by Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yuteki Yu Kumidashi Wan. Each is 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter, roughly the same height, and all are in perfect condition.
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer. Discarding the family business, he apprenticed in plastic arts under future Living National Treasure Ishiguro Munemaro. His work retains some principal elements of his teachers style while incorporating an understated elegance and avant-garde spirit of challenge uncommon for his time. He was first exhibited at the Nitten in 1951, receiving numerous awards there since. He also took the gold medal at the Prague International Exhibition, and was at the Brussels World Exposition. He is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto Museum of Modern art, Clark Center and the Freer Gallery among many others.

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

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

A cloud of terracotta clay floats over rays of white emanating down through the gray body of this object by Kawasaki Chitaru enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Light Cloud. The complete lack of glaze accentuates the rich color of the clay body, tiny “tombo-no-me” (dragonfly eyes) salting the surface. It is 20 x 12.5 x 23 cm (8 x 5 x 9 inches ) and in excellent condition, with the artist name and date engraved on the side.
Kawasaki Chitaru (born in Hiroshima, 1938) has dedicated his life since 1988 to promote the development of a pottery village in Bayat, Klaten, Central Java. Splitting his time between there and his position at Kyoto Seika University. Retired in 2008, and now serving as an Honorary Lecturer, he started to focus on education program by building and developing a craft school in that village. As an artist, he has done a lot of art activities and exhibitions since 1960. His latest solo exhibition “Knot, Connection, and String Playing” was exhibited in National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2012. Among other awards he was granted Grand Prix at the 1995 “1st Busan International Exhibition”, Busan, South Korea. In 1983 he garnered Silver in the Ceramic Design Competition organized by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and in 1982 his work was selected for the Japan Modern Ceramic Exhibition which traveled throughout Europe.

An historically important work by Furutani Hiromu (Churoku I) from the initial firing of their newly established Nobori-gama climbing kiln in 1974. This type of work is called Hatsugama, or first from the kiln. It is the only piece in the show from the climbing kiln (which has not been fired in over 20 years) and the earliest piece in the show as well. It is 32 x 8 x 35 cm (13 x 3 x 14 inches) and in excellent condition, directly from the family.
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.

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

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

A fabulous thin walled Bizen basin made for use as a fresh water container for the Japanese Tea Ceremony with black lacquered wooden lid enclosed in the original signed wooden box by Living National Treasure Yamamoto Toshu. This burnished style reminiscent of sangiri techniques is the signature work of this important Bizen artist. Here a plethora of colors vie for dominance on the ordinarily sedate brown clay. It is 22 cm diameter, 13 cm tall and in excellent condition.
For more on this important artist sea the recent exhibition: The Bizen, at the Miho Museum in Shiga prefecture, in which a number of this artists’ works were featured. Yamamoto Toshu (1906-1994) began working in a pottery at the age of 15. 12 years later (1933) he went independent, but interestingly decided to train again later not under a Bizen master, but Kusube Yaichi, perhaps stimulating his unusual eye for Bizen. After much acclaim, it was in 1959 that he made his worldwide appearance, with a gold prize at the Brussels World Exposition, and was named an important cultural property of Okayama that same year. He was most in love with the wheel, and his forms are crisp and sharp. He was named a living national Treasure in 1987. Works by the artist are held in the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo and National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto as well as the Victoria Albert Museum among many others.

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

A book of Yagi Kazuo works (number 203 of 800) dated 1969 with the cover inlaid with a ceramic work signed and dated Feb. 1967. Dozens of photographs of his work dating from the height of his fame as an avante Garde sculptor fill this 100 page book titled Simply “Yagi Kazuo”. The book comes in the original cover which is held inside a cardboard sleeve. The ends of the cover not encased in cardboard have yellowed some with age, but this does not affect the book within.

This piece by Kiyomizu Rokubei VI epitomizing the midcentury aesthetic, this piece by Kiyomizu Rokubei VI covered in soft gold colors and abstract patterns comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kinsai Moriki. It is 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) diameter, 23 cm (9 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Kiyomizu Rokubei VI (Shotaro, 1901-1980) graduated from the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts (Kyoto Shiritsu Bijutsu Kogei Gakko) and then Kyoto Municipal Special School of Painting (Kyoto Shiritsu E-ga Senmon Gakko) before taking a position under his father in 1925. That same year, he entered his first competition. Early on he was not limited to pottery, but worked in metal, sculpture and glass as well, absorbing aspects of modernism and the arts and crafts movement into his oeuvre. His career was to be marked by success in exhibitions including numerous awards at the aforementioned government sponsored Bunten/Teiten/Nitten National exhibitions and would later serve as a judge there. He enjoyed international acclaim, showing pieces at exhibitions, having his works join museum collections and winning awards in Belgium, the USSR, France and Italy. He did much to cultivate the arts and young artists in the post war years, taking full advantage of his position as a star to promote both traditional and avant-garde approaches. He would be appointed a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1962 and awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 1976. So dedicated was he, in fact, he died in 1980 after collapsing at an exhibition celebrating the Kiyomizu family's history. A multitude of works by him are held in the The National Museums of Modern Art, both in Tokyo and Kyoto.

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 fabulous form in striking colors by Miwa Eizo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hagi Hanaire. Raised from a square, the vase has been flattened, covered in Hagi glaze, then the shorter corners slabbed away revealing the raw clay. Thus fired, it is an engaging work of art, obviously buried slightly in the embers on one side, where it goes from smokey gray to mottled lavender and white into pink as it rises. It is 21 x 21 cm (8 x 8 inches) at the base, 30 cm (12 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Miwa Eizo (1946-1999) was born the second son of Living National Treasure Miwa Kyusetsu XI. He graduated the Private Musashino Art University and was a member of Japanese Traditional Crafts Society, often displayed at their National Exhibition (Nihon Dento Togeiten). He was recipient of top prize at the Tanabe Museums prestigious Modern Tea Forms Exhibition (Gendai Cha no Yu Zokei Ten). ). Unfortunately, he died in 1999 at the early age of fifty two. His brother Ryosaku succeeded the family name as Miwa Kyusetsu XII. He is held in the collection of the British Museum and The National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo among others. For more on this artist see the book: The Ceramic Works of Eizo Miwa (2001) published posthumously by the preeminent Kuroda Toen art gallery of Tokyo.

Brilliant firing affects decorate this deep tapering cup of raw clay by Tsuji Seimei enclosed in the original signed wooden box. A classic work relying truly on Tsuchi-no-aji, or the taste of the clay. There is no attempt at overt decoration of sculpture, just a perfectly formed cup with a slightly wider base blasted in the furnace with black charring, thin rivulets of molten ash and lots of Hi-iro. It is 12.5 cm (5 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Tsuji Seimei (1927-2008) was born the son of an antique dealer in Tokyo in 1927. He was a childhood prodigy, and had acquired a reputation before leaving school, allowing him to meet many of the great artists of his day. In 1941 he established a studio with his sister. In 1955 he built his own studio in Tama City, choosing Shigaraki as his medium, he fired prodigiously. He married Tsuji Kyo, also a potter, and together they formed a team which helped define the blending of post-war traditional and non-functional ceramics.

Viscious ash and charring cling to the side of this spectacular Mizusashi by Konishi Heinai enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 7 inches (18 cm) tall, the same diameter and in fine condition.
Konishi Heinai (1899-1991) was born into a family of farmers in Ehime on the Island of Shikoku. In 1925 he fell head over heels in love with Raku-yaki and it was in the world of pottery he chose to leave his mark. Returning to Shikoku in 1928, he studied various techniques and went on to study under Kawakita Handeishi from 1931. It was at this time he began to build his first Noborigama climbing kiln. Gaining fame throughout the war years, 1949 saw his fame and genius explode into public notoriety. In 1968 he passed the reins to his adopted son. Heinai II was born into the Beppu family in Aichi (Seto area) in 1928. He apprenticed under his uncle Heinai, followed by a sojourn under Handeishi, and in 1958 became the adopted son of Heinai I. His works were widely collected and exhibited throughout Japan, and he is held in the collection of the Metropolitan New York among many others. The Taiko Gama is one of the most famous for Tea Ware in Japan outside Kyoto.

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

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

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