Catalog: Artists: Ceramics: Pottery: Vases (291)

Exquisite kiln effects mark this Ujoyaki Tsubo by Imai Rikei from Aomori Prefecture enclosed in the original signed wooden box named Zuiha (Swirling wave). It is 33 cm tall, 29 cm diameter and in excellent condition. Imai Rikei was born in Aomori Prefecture in 1947, and fires in the Ujoykai traditional manner making use of the worlds longest climbing kiln (guiness book of world records, 103 meters long, you can see it on youtube). He has received a number of awards and exhibited with the Asahi Ceramics Exhibition (Asahi Togeiten) among others. He is the most important artist in this lesser known Northern tradition of Japanese pottery.

Reminiscent of an excavated Haniwa figure of a house, this museum quality vase is by Koinuma Michio and comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled very simply Tsubo. It is an iconic work by this eclectic artist, whose work is entirely unique and easily discernible. It is 27.5 cm (11 inches) square, 37 cm (14-3/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Due to size this will require special shipping consideration.
Koinuma Michio is a compelling figure unique among contemporary artists. He seems to have no limit to his imagination and creativity, still dazzling us with new concepts after four decades. Born in the hectic war years in 1936, he is incredibly intelligent, graduating the economics department of Osaka University, then on to Waseda, one of the top three schools in Japan, for graduate studies in economics and politics. Relinquishing that life he opened a kiln in Mashiko in 1970. Since 1978 he has been consistently displayed at the best galleries in Japan, as well as overseas. For more see Contemporary Japanese Ceramics Fired with Passion (ISBN -10: 1-891640-38-0) or To volume 10, which is dedicated entirely to him.
The image is based on Haniwa funerary objects. The Haniwa are terracotta clay figures of people, animals, and houses which were deposited at Japanese tombs during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th century) in Japan. Haniwa were created according to the wazumi technique, in which mounds of coiled clay were built up to shape the figure, layer by layer. Michio follows that style, then through a process of multiple firing and various techniques degrades the surface to create the feeling of antiquity. A strikingly similar image is published, figure 18, in the anthology Toh, volume 10. According to the encyclopedia of Ancient History many Haniwa are particularly detailed in their execution and thus provide a valuable insight into the culture of the period. Standing over one metre in height, the mysterious figures are a striking example of early Japanese sculpture.

Wow! Is what comes to mind the first time you see this daring silver glazed organic Kake Hana-ire by Okumura Hiromi. The clay folds about onto itself, forming a seed-like pod, with an opening in the top and wings extending out both sides. A wire loop is affixed to the back for wall hanging. A signed and stamped wooden plackard by the artist accompanies the piece. It is 11 x 14 x 5 inches (28 x 36 x 13 cm) and is in fine condition.
Okumura was born in Kyoto in 1953, and was thus from an early age inducted into the avant-garde world of pottery being created at that time by the founders of Sodeisha and their influence. He graduated the Kyoto Municipal University of Art Ceramic division in 1978. Throughout the 80s a slew of public and private exhibitions led him to an appointment as professor of Ceramics at Kyoto Seika University. He received Grand Prize at the Kyoten in 1990, and has since received other awards there. His work was selected for the traveling exhibition showcasing young Japanese talent “Japanese Pottery: The Rising Generation from Traditional Japanese Kilns”. He has been exhibited frequently in America as well.

An incredible organic form, the delicate petals appearing to waft in some tide by Shingu Sayaka enclosed in the original signed wooden box. A closed bud on the side is lined with hundreds of tiny sharp needles in black. It is 6 x 5 x 4 inches (15 x 13 x 10 cm) and in excellent condition.
Shingu Sayaka was born in Osaka, the industrial and commercial heartland of central Japan, in 1979. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts in 2001, before being selected as an artist in residence at the The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. She exhibits her amazing sculptures at the Asahi Togeiten where she has garnered a number of awards, and has a list of exhibitions to back up her popularity.

A traditional mimi-tsuki cylindrical vase by the artist who wrote the book on traditional firing, Furutani Michio, enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The vase is covered inside and out in natural molten ash glaze and dark charring where it was buried in the embers, the opposite side reveals the expressive nature of Shigaraki clay. It is 26.5 cm (10-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Furutani Michio is one of the Gods of Shigaraki, an artist who wrote the book on Anagama kilns, and one of the more influential artists of the second half of the 20th century. He was born in Shigaraki; graduating the Konan High School of industrial Arts, he moved to further his studies (like so many great artist before him, Kanjiro, Hamada…) at the Kyoto Institute of Industrial Arts in 1964. After breaking out on his own, he started by building an Anagama in Shigaraki in 1970, the first since the middle ages. He was a true pioneer, reviving the tradition and going on to build over thirty kilns over the next thirty years. No other artist has shown such singular dedication to a firing technique. He has been featured in the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition), Nihon Togei Ten (Japanese Ceramic Exhibition) and the Chunichi Kokusai Togei Ten among others. He passed away at the peak of his career. For more on this artists contributions see his book Anagama – Building Kilns and Firing.

Molten glaze in volcanic plumes extending from a yellow blast wrap tendrils around this exquisite Bizen vessel by Baba Takashi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Yohen Tsubo. The kiln effects are spectacular, covering the blackened Bizen clay with yellows, charcoals and a myriad of natural tones. It is quite large at 15 x 13 x 9-1/2 inches (38 x 33 x 24 cm) and is in new condition. Depending upon destination, special shipping consideration may be required.
At 36, Baba is one of the younger potters in our Autumn show. He was born into a traditional potting family in Bizen in 1983, and his genius is recognized as a graduate of the sculpture department of the prestigious Tokyo University of Art in 2006. He followed up with a year at the Kyoto Industrial Ceramics Research Facility beore taking up residence again in Okayama. His work was immediately recognized at the Okayama Prefectural Art Exhibition, , and the Bizen Toshinkai Exhibition, where he has received several awards. His work has also been seen in the Nihon Dento Kogeiten (Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Chanoyu Zokeiten Eshibition (Modern Forms in Tea) and he has been featured with a show in Britain in 2015.

A strikingly unusual charred vessel in the form of a kinuta fulling block by Atarashi Kanji enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is made of lumped clay scorched dark from deep within the embers of the kiln. The unique texture has allowed liquified ash to fill the spaces between with dusky color. I bought this piece on a summer visit with the artist this year, the only one like it he had. It stood out from across the room among all the ash glazed pots as a masterpiece. It is 12 x 14 x 24 cm (4-1/2 x 5-1/2 x 9-1/2 inches) and in excellent condition.
Atarashi Kanji was born in Osaka in 1944, and graduated the Osaka College of Craft design. After 3 years in Kobe, and 4 in Kishiwada (Wakayama) he came to settle in Iga, where he was one of the driving forces behind the resurrection and preservation of the Iga tradition. Although displayed at the National Craft Fair, he prefers the intimacy of the private exhibition, of which he holds several every year. And if ones visit to japan is not timed right for an exhibition, he can otherwise be found at his kiln working along with his son Manabu.

Like a fossilized ammonite excavated from some dry desert pit, dry green glass leaves off to arid cracked earth on this swirling vessel by Atarashi Kanji enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is a powerful work with sensational textures. 26 cm (10 inches) diameter, rising from 7 to 11 cm (3 to 4-1/2 inches) high at the shoulder. Due to the convoluted shape and extreme temperatures there are stress fractures born from the firing process.
Atarashi Kanji was born in Osaka in 1944, and graduated the Osaka College of Craft design. After 3 years in Kobe, and 4 in Kishiwada (Wakayama) he came to settle in Iga, where he was one of the driving forces behind the resurrection and preservation of the Iga tradition. Although displayed at the National Craft Fair, he prefers the intimacy of the private exhibition, of which he holds several every year. And if ones visit to japan is not timed right for an exhibition, he can otherwise be found at his kiln working along with his son and daughter.

Perfect for the humble entrance of a tea room, an orthodox wall vase by legendary Atarashi Kanji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Tabi-makura Kake-Hanaire (Travel Pillow Hanging Vase). It is 10.5 cm (4 inches) diameter, 17 cm (6-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Atarashi Kanji was born in Osaka in 1944, and graduated the Osaka College of Craft design. After 3 years in Kobe, and 4 in Kishiwada (Wakayama) he came to settle in Iga, where he was one of the driving forces behind the resurrection and preservation of the Iga tradition. Although displayed at the National Craft Fair, he prefers the intimacy of the private exhibition, of which he holds several every year. And if ones visit to Japan is not timed right for an exhibition, he can otherwise be found at his kiln working along with his son Manabu.

A bottle decorated with biblical passages by Araki Takako fired at the kiln of Uchida Koichi enclosed in the original wooden box signed by KOichi. It is the introduction of Mary from the book of Luke. The slender bottle itself is very much in the style and color of Koichi, and one might venture to say he had a hand in its making. The biblical passage is the obvious work of Takako, and on bottom is engraved her signature. The vase is 23 cm (9 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Araki Takako (1921-2004) was born daughter of a Zen priest in Nishinomiya, Hyogo prefecture between the cities of Osaka and Kobe. Araki devoted herself to the family profession of flower arranging until 1952 when she began to study painting. From 1960 to 1961 she studied sculpting in New York before returning to Japan where she studied ceramics at Kyoto Municipal Polytechnique School (today’s Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology), and then in different pottery centers. Her reputation for sculptural ceramics was established in 1979 when she received the grand prize at the Nihon Tôgei Ten National Ceramics Exhibition as well as internationally the silver prize and Grand Prize at Faenza International Ceramic Competition, Italy. In 1996 she was awarded the JCS Gold prize, arguably the most important award for a potter, by the Japan Ceramics Society. Her work is held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia). For more see Soaring Voices-Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists, 2007.
Uchida Koichi is a ceramic genius bornin Nagoya in 1969. He travelled extensively to various ceramic centers around the world, surveying environments, techniques and the overall culture of pottery before setting up his own studio in Mie in 1992. He eschews the world of competitive exhibition in favor of the intimate world and direct contact of the private gallery. This has not inhibited his reputation, and at the very young age of 34 was held a solo exhibition of his oeuvre at the Paramita Museum. He has also been exhibited internationally in Australia, China, England, India, Italy, Korea, New York, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam among others. For more see New Forms New Voices (New Orleans Museum of Art, 2017).

An organic form by Ikegami Kazuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bitchu Obuje. It is 8-1/2 x 7-1/2 x 9 inches (21.5 x 19 x 23 cm) and is in fine condition.

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

An iconic representation of this artists work, a large hidasuki Tsubo of red clay marked with burnt straw by Isezaki Mitsuru enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Tsubo. It is 9-1/2 inches (24 cm) diameter, 10-1/2 inches (26.5 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Isezaki Mitsuru (b. 1934) was born to a family of potters, his father Yozan and brother Jun both very important in Bizen pottery. In 1998 Mitsuru was named a Prefectural Intangible Cultural Property for Okayama (the prefectural version of a living National Treasure, likely more important as it is truly based on the artists contributions rather than heredity). He has innumerable exhibitions, including the Nihon Togei-Ten (National Ceramics Exhibition) Nihon Dento Kogei-Ten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition) and Gendai Togei Ten (Modern Japanese Ceramics Exhibition). In fact his first piece exhibited with the First National Ceramic Exhibition was selected for display in a show which went around the globe. Recipient of the Kaneshige Toyo prize as well as purchased by the Japanese Foreign service as gift to foreign dignitaries.

A fantastic sculptural Bizen vase by Ajiki Hiro (b. 1948) enclosed in the original signed wooden box dating circa 1995. The vase is roughly 14 inches (35 cm) tall and very heavy, the entire piece carved and cored from a solid block of clay. Hiro is an artist versed in many of Japans ceramic traditions. He fires Shino, Oribe, Seto, Raku, Bizen and Hagi styles as well as styles all his own. His daring Bizen forms have been compared to those of Kakurezaki Ryuichi, and in fact the two often collaborate and this was likely fired in that potters kiln. He has been displayed nationally at the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition) and received grand prize at the Tanabe Museum's Contemporary Tea Forms exhibition among many others. He lives and pots in Shimane when not out traveling Japan or the world.

A Spectacular Bizen Tsubo dripping with ash glaze by Yukuyoshi Manabu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Yohen Tsubo (Kiln altered). The rim is covered in built up black ash, which grows more liquid as it enters the burning embers on the side, and is blasted around in rivulets to the back where it has created two shadows of raw earth where another pot was in close proximity. It is 23 cm (9 inches) diameter, 21.5 cm (8-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Yukuyoshi Manabu was born in Kagatonishi near the heart of Bizen country in 1941. After working in Osaka as a young man, he returned to Bizen to assist the family building supply company. There he began to study clay under Mori Hozan and Ohira Seinosuke. After rebuilding an old kiln, he established his own. He ahs exhibited with the Issuikai Ten, the Chunichi Kokusai Togeiten, the National Ceramic Exhibition (Nihon Togeiten) among many others and has received a great many awards over his career.

A Pottery pouch covered in polka-dot silver glaze inspired by traditional textiles by pioneering female artist Tsuboi Asuka threaded with genuine silver couched chord and enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 11 cm (4-1/4 inches) tall and is in excellent condition.
Tsuboi Asuka was born in Osaka in 1932, but the family moved to Tokyo when she was 12. She graduated the prestigious and progressive Jiyu Gakkuen (A progressive girls School established in 1921) then moved to Kyoto in 1953, Kyoto, the city she has called home for half a century, where she would spend a year at the Sentsuji Yusai Kobo before enlisting under Living National Treasure Tomimoto Kenkichi. Her first works were exhibited that year at the Shinshokogeikai (where she would be awarded in 1955). She worked to establish the Joryu Togei Ten Ceramic Exhibition for female artists in 1957, to allow women a venue to exhibit works in what was then a very male dominated field. In 1961 she was accepted into the Asahi Togeiten Ceramic Exhibition, and in 1966 would be selected to represent contemporary Japanese ceramics in China, the following year saw he take a study trip to Korea, and in 1970 to Thailand while her work was exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, which would purchase her work in ’71 . She would be awarded at the Canadian International Ceramic Exhibition in 1973, and since her work has been exhibited throughout the globe. Here work to promote the arts was recognized in 1988 with the Kyoto Prefectural Order of Arts and Culture Award, and in 1991 with the Kyoto city Order of Cultural Merit, and again in 1992 with the prefectural Order of Cultural Merit. All culminated in her receiving the Japan Ceramic Society Gold prize, perhaps the most important award allowed a potter, in 2004. Her work can be found in Museum collections including several works in both the Museums of Modern Art in Tokyo and Kyoto, Fukui and Wakayama Prefectural Museums of Art, Suntory Museum, Shiga Togei No Mori Museum, Ariana Museum, Yale University Museum and The International Ceramics Museum in Faenza. According to the book Touch Fire: Tsuboi Asuka's influence on the ceramic arts of Japan cannot be overstated. As one of the first women to aggressively challenge the male hierarchy, she forged a role for women ceramic artists that previously did not exist in Japan. Tsuboi was the charismatic leader of the influential Kyoto women's ceramic group Joryū Tōgei (Women's Association of Ceramic Art) when it was first formed in 1957. This group was pivotal not only in providing a platform for women to participate as artists in their own right, but in giving them the opportunity to present their challenging work to the public.

A classic tea form by pioneering artist Furutani Michio enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Hanaire. It has been burrid midway in the embers scorching the earth black , molten ash covering the fire side, the rim torn and sagging, the perfection of imperfection. It is 10-3/4 inches (27 cm) tallr and in excellent condition.
Furutani Michio (1946-2000) is one of the Gods of Shigaraki, an artist who wrote the book on Anagama kilns, and one of the more influential artists of the second half of the 20th century. He was born in Shigaraki; graduating the Konan High School of industrial Arts, he moved to further his studies (like so many great artist before him, Kanjiro, Hamada…) at the Kyoto Institute of Industrial Arts in 1964. After breaking out on his own, he started by building an Anagama in Shigaraki in 1970, the first since the middle ages. He was a true pioneer, reviving the tradition and going on to build over thirty kilns over the next thirty years. No other artist has shown such singular dedication to a firing technique. He has been featured in the Nihon Dento Kogei Ten (Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition), Nihon Togei Ten (Japanese Ceramic Exhibition) and the Chunichi Kokusai Togei Ten among others. He passed away at the peak of his career. For more on this artists contributions see his book Anagama – Building Kilns and Firing.

Delicate flowers in blue on this vase by Kiyomizu Rokubei VI enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shuyo Kokyo Kabin. Kokyo is the Chines Bellflower. Shuyo is a type of pottery developed by and unique to Rokubei VI whereupon the image is painted onto the pot, then covered with impure pine ash glaze resulting in a very wabi-sabi aesthetic. This vase is 25 cm (10 inches) tall and in excellent condition dating from the 1970s.
The Kiyomizu family potters managed one of the most productive workshops in Kyoto’s Gojozaka district throughout the second half of the Edo period. From the Meiji they began producing tableware for export and special pieces for government-sponsored exhibitions under Rokubei IV. Rokubei V led the kiln into the 20th century, and his son, Rokubei VI (1901-1980), would assume lead in 1945, taking the kiln through the tumultuous years after the Second World War. He graduated the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts, then the Kyoto Special School of Painting, before apprenticing under his father in 1925. He exhibited frequently and was often prized at the National Bunten, Teiten and Nitten Exhibits, where he later served as judge. He was also lauded abroad, in the USSR, France, Italy, Belgium and was appointed a member of the Japan Art Academy. In 1976 he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit for his lifelong devotion to promoting Japanese pottery traditions. His works are held in numerous museums throughout the globe.