Like a mirror of the soul, the ovoid forms of Living National Treasure Tokuda Yasokichi III flash with brilliance, vivid color explodes, while the darkness seems infinite, impenetrable and reflecting only the world around it.  Here is a fine example of his work, pale blue blends through green into soft yellow before plummeting into darkness. The body of the vessel has been brought up to a very narrow neck, just wide enough to receive one flower before flaring out at the top...

A proud form of a fulling block inscribed with a wave pattern in the raw clay of the base and covered in ame-yu glaze by Inoue Toya enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 9-1/2 inches (24 cm) tall, 6 inches (15 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Inoue Toya (1942-2013), graduated the prestigious Nihon Daigaku in 1966, having spent his student years excavating ancient Karatsu shards and researching their techniques. He apprenticed under the multifaceted potter Nushi Ensai...

A torn opening and zen-like slash creates a dramatic pairing on this otherwise austere shape by Miwa Ryosaku (Miwa Kyusetsu XII) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kakehana-Ire (Hanging vase).  This combination of static form and calligraphic movement, like a Zen Brushwork, gives off a strong sense of immediacy, a fleeting sense of the moment which is the essence of Ichigo Ichie at the heart of the Tea ceremony.  As well it is this tension between tradition and artistic drama wh...

Iron infuses the draperies of crystlized Shino glaze covering this traditional bottle shaped vase by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oni-Shino Tsubogata Hanaire.  A fold in the side adds asymmetry and a sense of immediacy to the piece, taking away the sense of creation and putting it firmly in the natural world where nothing is perfect (except perhaps the scent of a plum blossom!).  This is a quintessential work by this important artist whose work will remain...

Ash crusts a thin veil over the richly textured Shigaraki clay of this amazing Tsubo by Tsujimura Shiro enclosed in the original wooden box titled Uzukumaru.  I see an abraded rock face weeping water somewhere deep in the mountains of Japan, a journey in the mind inspired by the unpredictable billowing of melted ash blasting though the kiln, touching each pot in a unique way and leaving its indelible mark. 
Size, D 18.5 cm ( 7.3 inches)  H 15.5  cm ( 6.1 inches) 
Condition, Ex...

An open bottle 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 Kannon Hana-Ike.  Kannon, the protector deity in Buddhism, is quite often seen meditating in white robes whith a bottle alongside.  A superlative example of this artists work...

An unusal form by Ito Motohiko of rectangular shape with undulating wave top like the gold clouds on a traditional screen,, emblazoned with young pine branches by Ito Motohiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Nunome Wakamatsu Mon Kabin (Cloth Textured Pine Motif Vase).  This is just in time for New Years displays.  Pine is one of the traditional motifs displayed at New Years as it is ever-green, and represents consistency and strength through the cold winter months.  The sapl...

This piece comes off like it has been buried in a volcano, incredible igneous encrustations cover the sides, with molten ash, bidoro, goma, kutsuki and a host of other firing effects all present on its diminutive form.  It is by the young artist Tsujimura Kai, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Hana-ire.  
Size, W 12.8  cm ( 5-1/4inches)  H 15.2  cm ( 6 inches) 
Condition, Excellent 
Kai was born in Nara, son of Tsujimura Shiro, in 1976, making him o...

Shadows of flame exhume the granular qualities of the clay on this superb Sekki (unglazed) Bottle by Mihara Ken enclosed in the original signed wooden box.  Exquisite, on one side the clay is ash gray, the opposite lively earth tones, and between is an abrupt scorched-land of shadow and color, like that violent moment between awake and sleep. 
Size, W 11.6  cm ( 4-1/2 inches)  H 16.5  cm ( 6-1/2 inches) 
Condition, Excellent 
Mihara Ken was born in Shimane prefecture i...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...