Catalog: Artists: Ceramics: Pottery (832)

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 truly one of a kind sculpture of three stacking pottery objects in oxidized color by rising star Hashimoto Tomonari. The only work like this the artist has yet produced, it is 82 cm (32 inches) tall and all in excellent condition, directly from the artist this year. We have many photos of the individual pieces from all angles if you would like to see them. Please inquire.
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 massive Blue Sculpture titled Sway by Yamaguchi Mio created as a reflection of the layered growth of organic forms such as shells and pine cones. Inspired by this natural growth, her work is likened to life in the depths of the ocean, along the seashore, of the layers of earth itself. She has made few works in blue, one of which is currently on display at the Chicago Art Institute for those in the area. This is a masterpiece. It is 74 cm (29 inches) tall, roughly 37 cm (15 inches) diameter and in excellent condition, accompanied by a signed wooden placard directly from the artist. We have a plethora of photos of this piece, for more please email.
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 Joryu Togei 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 wild pottery sculpture by Yamaguchi Mio titled Manimani (every moment), the sandy terracotta colored clay completely unadorned, rising from three feet like some exotic earthen flower. It is 40 x 50 x 59.5 cm and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist dating from 2023. It comes with a signed wooden placard.
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 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 Kokuto scalloping sculpture on three adjoined pedestal feet by Yamaguchi Mio titled Taiji no Yume (Fetal Dream)dating from late 2023. Here the young artist has ventured into black clay, eschewing altogether glaze of any kind. What you have is simply the direct, dark clay and the earthen texture, with no frills or decoration. It is 40 x 43 x 60 cm (16 x 17 x 24 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.

Vivid colors stand out on this fabulous multifaceted structure by Hashimoto Tomonari dating from this years firing. It is hollow, thus not as heavy as it looks, and comes accompanied by a signed wooden placard. The sculpture measures 37 x 36 x 36 cm (13 x 12 x 12 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
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.

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.

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.

An incredible Ceramic sphere in rich natural oxidized colors by Hashimoto Tomonari with original signed wooden box. It is 33 cm (13 inches) diameter and in excellent condition, directly from the artist. A similar orb is held in the collection of the V&A.
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 spectacular work in the shape of a curved wall covered in a galaxy of color by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 51 x 16 x 29 cm (20 x 6 x 11-1/2 inches) and is in perfect condition, directly from the artist. 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.

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

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.

The inside of this bowl has been glazed, the exterior left in raw clay before the entire was dipped in white gold, creating a stark contrast between inner and outer surfaces by Ogawa Machiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hakukinsai Hachi. It is 14.5cm (just under 6 inches) wide 8cm (3-1/4 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 tall fluted ceramic sculpture by Yamaguchi Mio titled Memory dating from 2020. Green glaze covers the stalk and pools in the raw clay scallops. It is 61.5 cm (over 2 feet) tall and is in excellent condition, accompanied by a signed placard directly from the artist.
Due to size, the price does not include shipping cost.
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 rusted and oxidized ceramic cube by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is roughly 30 cm (1 foot) cubed, and in perfect condition, directly from the artist.
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 raw black-clay sculpture rising vigorously to the occasion by Yamaguchi Mio titled Carpe Diem dating to later in 2023. It is 31 x 33.5 x 58.5 cm (12 x 13 x 23 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.

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.

A breathtaking sculpture by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The inverted cone is dark gray with rust red and blue patterns waving across the surface like gas clouds on some distant moon. It is 46 cm (18 inches) tall, 19 cm (7-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition, directly from the artist this winter. The wooden box is titled: Untitled. In fact he does not title any of his work now, preferring to leave interpretation up to the viewer. After hand forming and sculpting the shapes, they are bisque fired, then glazed and fired again at a relatively low temperature (Between 1000 and 1100 degrees, like Raku ware). Then he builds a brick oven around each piece and brings the temperature up to 500 degrees, and adds millet or rice husk, which carbonizes the surface, creating incredible colors and random patterns leaving the viewer with a feeling like rusted or heated metal. Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is making international waves around the world. Work by him is held in the V&A in London, LACMA and a large sculpture has recently been installed in his home prefecture of Wakayama.

This is an amazing work of art, a quashed flaring bucket form covered in hi-iro flame color and natural ash glaze with large silver repairs by Shigaraki legend Tsuji Seimei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yohen Mizusashi. Fired on its side, the piece has warped slightly in the conflagration, flying ash and embers settling on the inside opposite where it has adhered to the kiln floor, apparent as a large kutsuki above a large silver repair. Where it has gone oblong, the artist has filled lightning cracks with silver. Complimenting it, the custom made black lacquered wooden lid has also silver repairs looping along the edges. Incredibly pleasing to behold, it is 25.5 x 20 x 19 cm (10 x 8 x 7-1/2 inches and is 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.

A dramatic cluster of evolving black clay by Yamaguchi Mio, not only a departure from earth tones into black, but also the first piece the innovative artist made with multiple feet. It is 38 x 25 x 43 cm (15 x 10 x 17 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden placard.
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 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 dramatic ceramic sculpture (with a dramatic name) by Yamaguchi Mio currently starring in our garden display area titled Rinshi no Mori (Dead Forest) dating from before her time at the Ishoken Ceramic Facility in 2017. Unlike many of her more tightly bound growths, this one seems to be flaking off, like bark on a tree. It is 29 cm diameter, 66 cm tall and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden placard.
Due to size, it will require separate shipping arrangements.
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 rare manageable sized sculpture by Yamaguchi Mio in raw terracotta clay with just a smattering of scattered glaze dating from 2022. It is 29 x 33 x 47 cm and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden placard titled Metamorphosis.
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 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.

This large blossom by Nakazato Hiroko is covered in earthy pastel colors, rising to a voluptuous crescendo of petals. She says:
I am strongly attracted to the objects created by nature.
A lush plant that grows day by day, especially from early spring to early summer.
The expansion of form from bud to flower and the beautiful colors that spread inside...
In recent years, I have felt a strong vitality in these things,
Through the medium of ceramics, I strive to express this feeling the possibility.
It is 25 x 32.5 x 36 cm (10 x 13 x 14 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist and comes with a signed wooden placard.
Hiroko Nakazato was born in Yokohama in 1966. She graduated the Kyoto City University of Arts with an MA in 1992. She has held over 20 solo exhibitions since. She has been featured in the Nihon Kogeiten Japanese Crafts Exhibition, International Ceramics Festival Mino and the Asahi Contemporary Crafts Exhibition among many others. Her work was awarded at the 5th Mashiko Ceramics Competition in 2004. She also garnered acclaim at the 58th Japan Craft Exhibition as well as the 8th Kikuchi Biennale in 2019. In 2021 she was awarded again at the 9th Kikuchi Biennale. Her work is held in the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art (Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art) .

A black clay sculpture by Yamaguchi Mio titled Ningen (Human). This is not a glaze, but the actual color of the clay, left raw at firing time, to settle to a soft, matte black. It is 20.5 x 30 x 49.5 cm (8 x 12 x 20 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist, dating from 2022.
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 riotous sculpture covered in thin glaze pooling and glimmering in the crevices by Yamaguchi Mio accompanied by a signed wooden placard titled Mu (Nothingness) dating from 2021. It is 28 x 32 x 46 cm (11 x 13 x 18 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Due to size and weight, 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 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 singular orb covered in green glass which flows out to create its own base by Hashimoto Tomonari. Again, a one of a kind work by this rising star, it is 22.5 cm diameter, and in excellent condition directly from the artist. It comes with a signed wooden placard.
Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is making international waves around the world. Work by him is held in the V&A in London, LACMA and a large sculpture has recently been installed in his home prefecture of Wakayama.

Brilliant colors gleam on the meteoric surface of this crystalline form in rich natural oxidation by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 22 x 28 x 26 cm (9 x 11 x 10-1/4 inches) and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
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 secret technique is used to induce the wide cracking which does not penetrate the sides of this Tsubo wrapped in fingers of natural ash glaze by Furutani Taketoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Yabure Tsubo. Green ash viciously assaults one side, the color spreading out over the surface, overshadowing the darkness where it was buried in the embers, and wraps around the body in streaks of color leading to shell impressed eyelets on a surface burnt orange and black. It culminates in a single crystalline bead of green glass. The tsubo is 27 cm (11 inches) diameter, 32.5 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Furutani Taketoshi was born the son of master craftsman Furutani Hirofumi in 1974, graduating the Shigaraki Industrial High School Ceramics department in 1992 before entering the Shiga prefectural Ceramics Research Facility where he learned first Small Rokuro wheel technique, graduating the following year. In 1993 he would find himself under the tutelage of Suzuki Iwau before re-entering for a second course at the Research Facility, graduating in 1995. From then he returned to the family kiln where he learned in the time-honored tradition from both his grandfather Churoku I and father Hirofumi (Churokuk II). In 2013 he was named a Dento Kogeishi Traditional Craftsman. Since he has exhibited consistently at the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition. Subverting the self, he makes simple, organic pots which have a timeless quality. As well he dares new forms and challenges the clay with innovative techniques, coercing from the pliable earth challenging incarnations very much rooted in the now, yet still paying homage to the traditions passed down through the ages.

A voluminous vessel glowing with hi-iro flame color by Furutani Hirofumi (Churoku II) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Hi-iro Tsubo. This piece comes from deep within the kiln, far from the ash deposits in front, and the pale clay is altered by the heat and touch of the inferno as it rushes through the vortex, the path and shadows of other pieces leaving various patterns on the surface. It is 32 x 34 x 31 cm (13 x 14 x 12 inches) 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 ceramic placard impressed with the words WATER IS……. over the Zen symbol of a triangle, circle and square by Sodeisha founding member Yagi Kazuo mounted in a frame for wall hanging. The frame is 30cm x 31 x 5.5cm (roughly 12 x 12 x 2 inches) and is in excellent condition. It comes in a cloth bound storage box.
Yagi Kazuo (1918-1979) was one of the most influential Avant Garde potters of 20th century Japan. He was born into the family of potter Yagi Isso, a noted specialist in fine Chinese and traditional Japanese forms and glazes. Kazuo studied at the Kyoto Ceramics Research Facility, like many great potters before him including his father and the founders of the Mingei movement, Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji. While there immersed in traditional forms, he joined the Ceramic Sculpture Association of Japan, and in 1939 was exhibited with them. Drafted shortly thereafter, he wa sent to China, but quickly returned to Japan with illness, for which he was discharged, and went back to sculpture, very much influenced by Western Art movements of the time. The war years were difficult of course, but following Japan’s Surrender, Kazuo was accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition. Like many young artists who had been held in the yolk of Japan’s strict military regime, he was grasping for something new, and his work expressed a strong desire to throw off the weight of traditionalism and function. So it was in 1948 when Kazuo, along with a number of other potters including Suzuki Osamu, Yamada Hikaru and Kumakura Junkichi, founded the Iconic Sodeisha Group. The work of this group would change forever the perception of Japanese pottery, and he would go down as one of the most influential potters of the 20th century.

A starkly traditional tsubo showing off the plethora of effects garnered from the inferno in an Anagam kiln by Furutani Taketoshi titled simply Shigaraki Shizen-yu Tsubo. It is formed in a medieval fashion with small foot growing in stages to a round wide shoulder, which then pinches to a small neck with pinched mouth. The coloration is fabulous, with rich greens fading to olive to crusty black on the blast side, while the natural clay dusted with flying ash shows off the quintessential shiseki and tombo-no-me for which Shigaraki is known. It is 29 cm (11-1/2 inches) diameter, 35.5 cm (14 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.

Iridescent color plays like oil spots on the multiple facets of this ceramic Object by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 25 x 23 x 20 cm (10 x 9 x 8 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
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 magnificent large spiraling work in dark iron by Takatsu Mio. Perfection of form defines this young female artists work, and this does not disappoint. It begins at a blunt point, tightly spiraling outward as the shape evolves from a thick round to a wide spiraling flange. A very challenging work which seems to defy understanding. It is 66 cm long and in excellent condition, directly from the artist. It is signed beneath.
Takatsu Mio (b. 1976) was raised in Gifu prefecture among the scattered kilns of Mino. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts Sculpture Department in 1999, moving on to advanced studies which she completed in 2001, putting her at the forefront of the current female revolution in Japanese ceramic arts. Her first exhibited works were in 1999, and then again in Tokyo in 2001. The following year she exhibited with the 6th International Ceramics Exhibition in Mino with several private exhibitions over the following years in many top venues. In 2005 she made her overseas debut. In 2009 her work was featured in Women Ceramic Artists in the 21st Century (Paramita Museum/Mie Japan) 2011 saw her work accepted into the Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition in Italy, as well as the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. She had to take a break to concentrate on motherhood and raising a baby, but it back in the saddle again, creating new works and showing what a woman and a mother can do.

A fabulous small sculpture titled Metamorphosis by important artist Kumakura Junkichi exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art at Shigaraki and published in the catalog Junkichi Kumakura Special Exhibition (image 185). It is 20 cm (8 inches) tall, and in excellent condition, enclosed in a modern collectors box.
Junkichi (1920-1985) began working in ceramics in the 1940s, his works submitted to innumerable National and International Exhibitions including the Japan Art Festival, New York and the international Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Florence Italy. He also submitted to the Brussels World Exposition and helped design murals for the World Exposition Osaka. At the International Ceramics Exhibition, Prague in 1962 he took a silver prize. He was also often exhibited and is in the permanent collection of the Japanese National Museum of Modern Art as well as the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. Along with Suzuki Osamu, Hikaru Yamada and Yagi Kazuo, Junkichi was one of the founding members of the influential Sodeisha (Crawling Through Mud Association), a group of revolutionary post war ceramic artists whose influence remains strong today.

Female figures overlap in the center of this Oribe platter by innovative artist Suzuki Goro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oribe Sara. The iron drawn images are framed in copper green with raised designs. On back a self-portrait of the artist leaning like a ghoul over his potters wheel. It is 36 cm (14 inches) square and in excellent condition.
Suzuki Goro has a list of shows and prizes too lengthy to go through, but the highlights are, Nitten National Art Exhibition, Nihon Shin Kogei Ten (New National Crafts Exhibition), Nihon Gendai Kogei Ten (National Modern Crafts Exhibition), Asahi Togei Ten-(First of Show and governors prize), as well as the Kofukai Ten among many others. He has a strong and devout following both domestic and international.

An inverted cone in deep rust colors by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled, like all his work, “Untitled”. It is 26 cm (10-1/4 inches) diameter, 23 cm (9 inches) tall and in perfect condition, directly from the artist. After forming and sculpting the shapes, they are bisque fired, then glazed and fired again at a relatively low temperature (Between 1000 and 1100 degrees, like Raku ware). Then he builds a brick oven around each piece and brings the temperature up to 500 degrees, and adds millet or rice husk, which carbonizes the surface, creating incredible colors and random patterns leaving the viewer with a feeling like rusted or heated metal. Hashimoto Tomonari was born the son of a sculptor and has felt comfortable with the processes of creation since childhood. He graduated with a masters from the Kanazawa University of Art in March 2017, then relocated to Shigaraki. A visit to his humble home studio is eye opening. Although he comes across as shy in conversation, when you move on to the subject of art, he is all confidence. He was named a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 and is making international waves around the world. Work by him is held in the V&A in London, LACMA and a large sculpture has recently been installed in his home prefecture of Wakayama.

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

A wild ceramic sculpture in rich dark iron glaze by Takatsu Mio enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Soko ni Seisoku Suru (Living There). Mio is an amazing person, very intense when she works, very casual when she is not. She will happily take a hammer to a piece after months of work, if it does not meet her inner criteria, thus her production is quite low, but quality is extremely high. This piece is 37 cm (14-1/2 inches) long and in excellent condition, from the artist this summer.
Takatsu Mio (b. 1976) was raised in Gifu prefecture among the scattered kilns of Mino. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts Sculpture Department in 1999, moving on to advanced studies which she completed in 2001. Her first exhibited works were in 1999, and then again in Tokyo in 2001. The following year she exhibited with the 6th International Ceramics Exhibition in Mino with several private exhibitions over the following years in some of Japans top venues. In 2005 she made her overseas debut. In 2009 her work was featured in Women Ceramic Artists in the 21st Century (Paramita Museum/Mie Japan) 2011 saw her work accepted into the Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition in Italy, as well as the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition.

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 long spiraling form of perfect dimension in iron glaze by female artist Takatsu Mio titled simply Uzumaki. It is 54 cm long and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Takatsu Mio (b. 1976) was raised in Gifu prefecture among the scattered kilns of Mino. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts Sculpture Department in 1999, moving on to advanced studies which she completed in 2001, putting her at the forefront of the current female revolution in Japanese ceramic arts. Her first exhibited works were in 1999, and then again in Tokyo in 2001. The following year she exhibited with the 6th International Ceramics Exhibition in Mino with several private exhibitions over the following years in many top venues. In 2005 she made her overseas debut. In 2009 her work was featured in Women Ceramic Artists in the 21st Century (Paramita Museum/Mie Japan) 2011 saw her work accepted into the Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition in Italy, as well as the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. She had to take a break to concentrate on motherhood and raising a baby, but it back in the saddle again, creating new works and showing what a woman and a mother can do.

A ribbon of iron glaze rises up like a swirling flame, a quintessential work by female artist Takatsu Mio enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Work 1602. This is 43 cm (17 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Takatsu Mio (b. 1976) was raised in Gifu prefecture among the scattered kilns of Mino. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts Sculpture Department in 1999, moving on to advanced studies which she completed in 2001. Her first exhibited works were in 1999, and then again in Tokyo in 2001. The following year she exhibited with the 6th International Ceramics Exhibition in Mino with several private exhibitions over the following years in some of Japans top venues. In 2005 she made her overseas debut. In 2009 her work was featured in Women Ceramic Artists in the 21st Century (Paramita Museum/Mie Japan) 2011 saw her work accepted into the Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition in Italy, as well as the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. She spends many days refining the shape of each piece she makes. If there is something she does not like, no matter how much time has gone into a piece, she will simply shatter it and start again. She is now a mother, and her time is split between running her home, child care and sculpting. Thus her output is very low but quality high.

A wild ceramic sculpture in rich dark iron glaze by Takatsu Mio enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Soko ni Tsuiki Suru (Take a Breath). Mio is an amazing person, very intense when she works, very casual when she is not. She will happily take a hammer to a piece after months of work, if it does not meet her inner criteria, thus her production is quite low, but quality is extremely high. This piece is 37 cm (14-1/2 inches) long and in excellent condition, from the artist this summer.
Takatsu Mio (b. 1976) was raised in Gifu prefecture among the scattered kilns of Mino. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts Sculpture Department in 1999, moving on to advanced studies which she completed in 2001. Her first exhibited works were in 1999, and then again in Tokyo in 2001. The following year she exhibited with the 6th International Ceramics Exhibition in Mino with several private exhibitions over the following years in some of Japans top venues. In 2005 she made her overseas debut. In 2009 her work was featured in Women Ceramic Artists in the 21st Century (Paramita Museum/Mie Japan) 2011 saw her work accepted into the Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition in Italy, as well as the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition.

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

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.

Crusty black covers this vase by Kumano Kurouemon (also written Kuroemon) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Echizen Tetsuguro Hanaire. It is 30 cm (12 inches) tall, 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
A ceramic madman, oil painter and recluse, Kuroemon is as eccentric as his pottery predicts. Born in Fukui prefecture in 1955 Kuroemon was a painter from youth, he began his studies under Fujita Jurouemon in 1976, and moved to study also under Toda Soshiro. Invited to the Soviet Union he spent time there and in Sakhalin in the 80s, returning to Japan to build his own kiln in 1987. He was the feature of a major exhibition in Germany in 2004, but aside from a few small exhibitions held in Japan (which quickly sell out) he remains a humble artist holed up in his mountain hermitage and works by him are not easy to acquire.

Thick ash clings to the rough clay of this classical open flower vessel by Koyama Kiyoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen Yu Te-oke Hana-ire. It is 20 x 17.5 x 23.5 cm (8 x 7 x 9-1/4 inches) 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

A beautiful faceted white glazed Sencha set for steeped tea by Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Haku-yu Bancha-ki (White glazed Set for Bancha Tea). The cups are roughly 7.5 cm (3 inches) diameter, the same height and all are in excellent condition.
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer. Discarding the family business, he apprenticed in plastic arts under future Living National Treasure Ishiguro Munemaro. His work retains some principal elements of his teachers style while incorporating an understated elegance and avant-garde spirit of challenge uncommon for his time. He was first exhibited at the Nitten in 1951, receiving numerous awards there since. He also took the gold medal at the Prague International Exhibition, and was at the Brussels World Exposition. He is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto Museum of Modern art, Clark Center and the Freer Gallery among many others.

Enigmatic script rises like fingerprints from the surface of this vertical black monolith by Shigemori Yoko dating from quite early in her career titled Autumn Field. The piece is slab-formed, the slabs pressed over a surface inscribed with mysterious scrawling and texts, one feels it possible to read, but it proves elusive. Like much of her work it is raw, Like garage band music. There is no other decoration, a powerful statement which staggers to one side. It is 14 x 17 x 40 cm (7 x 6 x 16 inches) and is in excellent condition.
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 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.

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.

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.

Dark embers cling to this organic bottle form vase by Tsujimura Shiro marked on the side with his signature. It is a superb example of his work. The vase is 17 cm (6-1/2 inches) tall, 12 cm (4-3/4 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. There is no box.
Tsujimura Shiro was born in Nara in 1947, and began his steps into the art world as an oil painter in 1965. While living at a Buddhist temple he experienced a profound connection with a Korean Tea Bowl, and began potting. He established his kiln and residence in 1970, with his first solo exhibition held in 1977. By the 1990s he had become an international star, with works exhibited in the US, UK, Germany, France and many other nations. He is highly acclaimed and somewhat reclusive, avoiding the public spectacles often needed to make one in Japan. A must have in any contemporary collection of Japanese ceramic art, work by him is held in museums throughout the globe, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at Smithsonian Institution, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Spencer Museum, Ackland Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The British Museum, Stockholm Museum of Art and the Miho Museum among many others

A spiraling form rises to a small opening creating this temporal vase by Takatsu Mio enclosed in the original signed wooden box from the artist this year (in fact she is signing the box right now!). The mouth is at an angle, allowing the viewer a unique image depending upon viewpoint. It is 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 21 cm (8 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Takatsu Mio (b. 1976) was raised in Gifu prefecture among the scattered kilns of Mino. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts Sculpture Department in 1999, moving on to advanced studies which she completed in 2001, putting her at the forefront of the current female revolution in Japanese ceramic arts. Her first exhibited works were in 1999, and then again in Tokyo in 2001. The following year she exhibited with the 6th International Ceramics Exhibition in Mino with several private exhibitions over the following years in many top venues. In 2005 she made her overseas debut. In 2009 her work was featured in Women Ceramic Artists in the 21st Century (Paramita Museum/Mie Japan) 2011 saw her work accepted into the Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition in Italy, as well as the Nihon Togeiten National Ceramics Exhibition. She had to take a break to concentrate on motherhood and raising a baby, but it back in the saddle again, creating new works and showing what a woman and a mother can do.

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 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.

This cage of raw white porcelain by Goto Miho, like dried bones, contains a glistening membrane, a mysterious ceramic sculpture by this young artist from her Heartbeat of the Skin series. It is 14 x 15 x 16.5 cm (roughly 5-1/2 x 6 x 6-1/2 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.

A fabulous little Tsubo excavated from the sea of embers on the floor of an Anagama kiln by Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The body is entirely encrusted inside and out with a thick layer of charred natural ash encrustations, one side with a rivulet of shiny glass wrapping the neck. It is 15 cm (6 inches) diameter, 20 cm (8 inches) tall and 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.

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.