Here another igneous form by Fujioka Shuhei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Igyo Tsubo (Iga disparately Shaped Tsubo). Like the previous Shigaraki work, this shows a state of nature, not a state of intent, as if the piece came to be. It is this sense of raw elementalism which puts Japanese pottery apart, and gives it its unique place of reverence in world ceramics...

Here is a piece with attitude! A proud Iga vase with two “ears” like elbows on its hips by Kishimoto Kennin enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Hanaire Somimi. Interestingly he has written the last characters as one instead of two in the title...

Thick white vitrifies over bottomless black, creating a stark sense of drama on the torn form of this outstaniding work by world renowned potter Miwa Kazuhiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kakan (Floral Crown). It is quite tall, and with a single flower would be an excellent complement to the alcove of a modern Tea Room. The raw red clay is visible benath where the glaze has crawled away to allow a peek inside...

A charred Ash Glazed Hento by Kumano Kurouemon enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Echizen Ko-wakamaru Hento and signed To Kurouemon. Two slabs joined by a wide belt, one side slightly sagging like Hotei’s belly, lines scorring the sides. Glaze is crisp on the neck and one side, but grows quite liquid as it drips down the other...

Mottled blue in thick textured drips run down the sides over ashen glaze on this 4 eared Tsubo by Sakuchi Ensen enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The thickness of the drips adds a tactile sense to this piece, compelling the hands to reach out and touch. It is 11-1/2 inches (29.5 cm) tall 9 inches (23 cm) diameter and in fine condition. The box lid is stained.
Sakuchi Ensen (B...

Hayashi Shotaro is one of Japan’s preeminent potters, and he has outdone himself again with this mouthwatering work decorated with a pagoda in dark iron silhouette against an iron red sky fading to darkness at the rim. It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Manyou Yamato-ro Henko (Manyo is his signature glaze and Yamato-ro refers to imagery of old Japan). This piece was shown at his exhibition celebrating 45 years of potting, and is featured in the catalog image number 19...

An Oribe vessel covered in pale earth-tones scribbled with nudes by Suzuki Goro enclosed in the original wooden box titled Yahichida Tsubo. A crow perches on the base like a signature cawing out GORO! Yahichida was a style of Oribe popular in the Momoyama and early Edo periods. That said it is likely that they did not decorate with such audacious flair back then...

Silver waves ripple like the summer seas around the Mt. Fuji like cone of this iconic form by Morino Taimei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Ginsai Namijo Mon Henko (Silver Wave Pattern Vessel). The unsual base of white lends this piece a singular quality among his repertoire, and would be a wonderful compliment to other works by this esteemed artist...

This Tsubo by Tsujimura Kai is amazing and all attitude. It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shizen-yu Tsubo. Green ash has poured in a torrent around the form, settling into glossy black around the base on one side and tingeing the rim with charcoal fingers. Huge eyelets create bulge from the surface on one side, evidence of how it rested on its side in the kiln. This is one not to be missed, and one we will be hard pressed to let go...

Camellia blossom on this flattened form by Ito Motohiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Nunome Tsubaki Mon Kabin (Cloth Texture Vase with Camellia Design). It is 10 inches (26 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
The artist is a famous Kasama potter, best known for his nunome pattern and exceptional designs. Motohiko was born in Fukuoka prefecture, 1939, and graduated the Tokyo University of Art in 1964, then moved on to advanced courses there, finishing in 1966...

Spectacular kiln affects dapple this playful form by artist Sugimoto Sadamitsu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Hanire.  Ash has encrusted the base so thickly he has had to grind it off, this happens when the piece gets buried up to a point in the ash on the kiln flooror up against a wall, and the works come up together this cooled encrustation.  That combines with the natural sunrise colors or “Hi-iro” of the clay, and the glassy green beads wrapping around the jocula...

A seminal work by Wakao Toshisada adorned with the quintessential elements of this artists work, a moon in gold over silver flowers on a gray Nezumi-Shino fold-textured ground.  It comes in the original signed wooden box titled very simply Nezumi Shino Hanaike.  Although I am not a botanist, I imagine the yu-gao (bottle gourd flower, called the face of evening in Japanese) opening to reveal its splendor to the rising moon, visible through the drying autumn grasses.  A superb example of the em...

A multi faceted Vase by Hamada Shinsaku coated in swipes of blue-salt glaze enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shio-yu Ai Henko (Salt Glazed Blue Vase).  On one side is a blown blue spatter like Jackson Pollock, yet on the opposite fingers traces like Shiraga Kazuo.  The rich blues are punctuated by dustings of rust.  Either side is a pleasure. 
Size,W 15.8 cm ( 6-1/4 inches)  H  cm ( 8-1/4 inches) 
Condition, Excellent 
Born the second son of Hamada Sho...

Once again Abe Anjin has proved his mastery of traditional form with this superb rendition of Momoyama styling enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Hanaire,signed on base as well inside the vase. Ashen gray climbs up the side while flying ash settles down about the rim.  The Momoyama was an era of constant battle and striking aesthetic innovation.  And like an old Samurai, scars mar the surface like campaign medals, while the shadows of other pots, like ghosts from the kiln,...

Something about the pattern on this Kinsai vase by Ono Hakuko screams vintage, like a classic episode of the partridge family.  There is a great deal of life about it, some type of inner joy, the gold repetition like the lights reflecting off a mirrored ball.  It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yuri-Kinsai Hana-tate. 
Size, W 8.5  cm ( 3-1/2 inches)  H 24.0  cm ( 9-1/2 inches) 
Condition, Excellent 
From Aichi prefecture, Hakuko was trained by h...

Bidoro rain down like a glass bead curtain over the terracotta clay of this Shigaraki Tsubo by Takahashi Shunsai enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 8-1/4 inches (20.5 cm) tall and in fine condition.
Born in 1927, the second son of renowned potter Takahashi Rakusai III in Shigaraki, Takahashi Shunsai left home to study under Taniguchi Ryosai in Kyoto before returning to Shigaraki to pursue his studies of Shigaraki styles specifically under his father and spent the better pa...

A traditional shape called Kinuta (fulling block) draped with ochre glaze over charred blacks by Tsukigata Nahiko wrapped in a brocade bag and enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oni Shino Kinuta Hana-Ike which is in turn enclosed in a black lacquered wooden double-wood storage box. A Kinuta (fulling block) is a small wooden mallet used to beat silk into a soft texture. It is a very traditional shape in Japanese pottery. This is 9 inches (23 cm) tall and in excellent condition. ...

A lobed bottle form vase by Kishimoto Kennin enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seiji Ichiriin Sashi.  The surface is fissured like a block of shattered ice the color of a carribean lagoon.  About the opening a hint of rust defines the rim.  A blue sapphire…  
Size, W 11.2 cm ( 4-1/2 inches)  H 15.9  cm ( 6-1/4 inches) 
Condition, Excellent 
Kishimoto Kennin has been working with clay since the 1950s, devouring styles along the way. Seto, Oribe, Iga an...