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...

Kohiki is simple elegance, one of the styles most befitting the humble confines of the tea room, and its ghostly white glows softly like the moon in the shadows. This sublime example by Tsujimura Shiro once again shows his mastery of the craft and expresses an inner confidence and yet unassuming nature of the artist himself, one who has mastered the tenets of the Way of Tea. It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kohiki Chawan...

A spectacular work by Tsujimura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box featuring a dark burn down one side, as if water has been pouring from the rim for centuries over the same place. The rough clay studded with inclusions and Shiseki is everything we have come to expect from this potter. The vase is 9 inches (23 cm) tall, 5 inches (12.5 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Tsujimura Shiro was born in Nara in 1947, and began his steps into the art world as an oil painter...

As if it never cooled, this bottle by Kato Takahiro glows with the fire which forged it a rich orange with tendrils of flame whisping up the body, a superb work enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Aka-shino Tsubo enclosed in a lacquered Niju-bako double wood storage case...

A spectacular large bowl of igneous texture displaying a swatch of slick ash like a wet stone wall by Kishimoto Kennin enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Chawan. Truly a magnificent work, it recalls memories deep in the forest, at some shrine carved into the walls of a crystalline waterfall, unvisited and overgrown with moss.  The wide form fits pleasantly into the palm, and the masterful craftsmanship of this artist is obvious...

As if dragged from the ocean floor, the calcified form of this star shaped shell chawan with beautiful white color capturing the sand of the sea from which it came. A superlative bowl by Koike Shoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shiro-Wan.
Size, D 14.6 cm H 9.8 cm
Condition, Excellent
Born in 1943, Shoko graduated Japan’s top art school (the Tokyo University of Art) in 1969...

A splash of metalic glaze runs down opposite a splash of thick Kaki-colored glaze on the highly textured earth-colored surface of this bottle shaped vase by Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Titiled Tetsu-yu Nagashi Bin, this dates from early in his career, 1960-1965. It is 14.5 cm (5-3/4 inches) diameter, 22.5 cm (9 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer...

Layers of irregular bands of colored clay, peach-colored top lid to a lavender and green like the climbing mountains surrounding Kyoto rise up the sides of this majestic work by Miyashita Zenji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Sai-dei Koro Gen-fu Kaze ( Mad Colors Phantasmic Wind Incense Burner and date to 1993. It is an excellent example of this artist...

Wow, a jaw-dropping bowl in igneous black like some volcanic expulsion by Kim Hono enclosed in the original signed wooden box. So impressed was even the artist with this piece that he has drawn an image of the bowl up the side of the box and over onto the lid. It is 11.5 x 13 x 10 cm 4-1/2 x 5 x 4 inches) and in excellent condition...

Golden Camellia blossom all bout theoutside of this lovely wan-gata Chawan by the famous female artist Ono Hakuko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kinrande Chawan.  The pattern is created by applying gold foil to the surface before firing.  Here she has cut the gold foil into patterns of camellia blossoms, and applied them over red glaze to great effect...

A sculpture in black glaze by Yoshitake Hiroshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Sakuhin B and dating circa 1980. Very much in the vein of this important avant-garde organization, it has a great deal of presence compacted into a small space. A nearly identical work is published in the book: Sodeisha, 35th Anniversary (Sodeisha, Sanjugoshunen Kinenhan, 1983) which is titled Suikan (Inebriated). Interestingly, Suikan is also a homonym for water pipes...

Overlapping crescents in pale colors decorate the textured white clay of this tall vase by Kamoda Taro enclosed in the original signed wooden box dated 1989 and titled Kaku (With Corners). It is 12 x 15.5 x 32 cm (5 x 6 x 12-1/2 inches) and in excellent condition, hand signed on the base in a colorful cartouche.
Kamoda Taro was born in Mashiko the eldest son of legendary ceramic artist Kamoda Shoji...

A patterned Seki vase by Ito Shin enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hai-mon Hanaike (Ash Pattern Vase)...

Ash encrusts this vase by the youthful star Tsujimura Yui enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Mimitsuki Hanaire. Slight degradation of the rim creates a very organic feel. The form, shows scars where kutsuki (other items) have fused to it in the heat of the conflagration. Allow this bulb to grow to fruition, blossoming into a shared night of conversation and company or a quiet night of music and moonlight…
Size, D 14.4 cm H 32.1 cm
Condition, Excellent ...

An exquisite vessel in white with elegant stripes of soft color by hard to find Niwa Ryochi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Senmon Tsubo. There is a palpable grace to the piece which seems to reflect the Japanese appreciation of silence and shadows. It is 27.5 cm (11 inches) diameter, 33 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Hirashimizu-yaki started when the Lord Niwa Jizaemon, invited Tojihei Ono, a potter from Ibaraki, to make pottery using clay from Chitoseyam...

Catalonia series,was made in a small town in the mountains of the Pyrenees near the French border Barcelona, Spain. Using the local soil,glaze and kilns from May-August 1990 with the cooperation of six Spanish ceramists. This piece was shown at Meitetsu Department Store (October,1990) and is featured in the catalog image number 33 (catalog included). A very special work that rarely comes to market by this important artist.
Size, D 18 cm H 25.5 cm
Condition, Excellent
Bor...

Blue glaze fills in the embedded patterns in this Tokkuri by Living National Treasure Shimaoka Tatsuzo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Gosu Zogan Jomon Tokkuri. The vibrant blue is a bit of a departure for this artist whose work is often sedate, relying on the texture and patterns of the Jomon rope design over dependence on colorful glazes. It is 15 cm (6 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Shimaoka Tatsuzo (1919-2007) was born in Tokyo and enrolled in the Tokyo K...

An incredible organic shape by Isezaki Koichiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Kuro-Chawan. The tea bowl looks as if it were sculpted with the fire, perhaps poured molten out of the flames and solidified naturally into this form. About it clings a thick palet of ash, like lichen on a stone glistening under the melted frost. Folds in the clay and flaws under the heavy ash deposit create tension and explore themes of nature and age and a powerful order beyond human tou...

Here we have an exceptional Raku tea bowl given the poetic name "Setsu-gekka" (snow, moon, flower) — a phrase often used in Japanese art and literature to evoke a sense of beauty, tranquility, and the passing of seasons. With a masterfully applied red Raku glaze and a noticeable aesthetic of asymmetrical balance, this piece highlights a very old technique used in Raku pottery of scraping straight edges along the body of the vessel, thus producing contrast and a degree of desirable ...

A seminal work by Isezaki Koichiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hikidashi Kuro. Expanding upon the hand of his teacher, Living National Treasure Isezaki Jun , the organic form is all Koichiro. This is everything we could hope for in Hikidashi Kuro Chawan. Texture, form, color, this one has it all!
Size, D 14.3 cm H 9.4 cm
Condition, Excellent
Isezaki Koichiro was born the son of living national treasure Isezaki Jun. He graduated the sculpture department of ...

For Celadon aficionado Kato Tsubusa is like the jewel in the crown, a centerpiece so unusual and outstanding, and this deep Tea Bowl is a particularly rare gem, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Mentori Chawan.  The sides have been slabbed away, the angular form then dipped in thick transparent green which has fissured in the heat, and beaded like a jade necklace around the base.  Such an unusual combination of affects it is sure to be a star in any collection of contemporary p...

The creator of this exceptional tea bowl is Koto Kenshi, a native of the town of Hagi in Yamaguchi prefecture who has been producing many fine works since opening his studio in 1970. This piece features a milky ashen glaze with a portion of the foot of the tea bowl exposed, displaying the reddish coarse clay beneath.

Hagi-yaki has a tradition stretching back over 400 years and is a high-fired stoneware type of pottery. Hagi-ware is prized for its subdued colors and classical feature...

The work is Mori Togaku, a living legend in Bizen currently wowing the world with his massive water jars and airplane hanger sized kiln, the largest I know of in Japan. This piece is enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Kuro Tokkuri dating to 1988.
Size, D 9.7 cm H 12.1 cm
Condition, Excellent
Mori Togaku was born in Inbe, in the heart of Bizen territory in 1937. Following graduation from Okayama University in 1957, he taught art for a short ti...

This particular Yellow Seto Sake Flask is having all of the bells and whistles a collector would want from a work by Kagami Shukai. His unique Aburage-de (deep-fried tofu) Yellow color, the Koge brown and copper-green,comes together to paint a portrait of a perfect Shukai piece. From a private collection comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled ki-seto Tokkuri. This is a quintessential work by this important artist whose work will remain influential long past the coming generati...

An earing clings to the “mimi” on this fabulous ash glazed vessel by one of our favorite hidden treasures, Tamura Roppo, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Koshu Iga Mimitsuki Hanaire. The traditional form is affixed with two “ears”, from one of which clings one tremulous drip of ash, seeming to slightly weigh down that side. Happenstance occurring at just the right place at just the right time during the firing process that it survived without falling or breaking off. I...

A Capricious sculpture like a colorful head towel removed yet retaining its shape by pioneering 20th century female artist Matsuda Yuriko signed on the base and enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kinrande Utsuwa. It is 9 x 7 x 5 1/2 Inches (22 x 17 x 14 cm) and in excellent condition.
Matsuda Yuriko was born in Ashiya, Hyōgō Prefecture in 1943nd lives and works in Oshino, Yamanashi Prefecture. Yuriko is an avid exhibitor; it is a wonder she has time to do any work at a...

A stellar large tea bowl covered in rich Oribe green by Tsukamoto Haruhiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oribe Chawan. It has a very organic feel, both from the texture and the cutted sides with various thicknesses of green glass, like water running over a stone surface.  This is a great opportunity to acquire a very special piece by this artist. 
Size, D 13.8 x 14.9 cm   H 9.4  cm  
Condition, Excellent 
Tsukamoto Haruhiko was born in Toki city, Gi...

An exquisite platter on two legs by Aoyama Tetsuro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The rush of white and and soft blue across the surface is reminiscent of the “Ma”, or blank space of an ink waterfall painting. It measures 41 x 40.5 x 10 cm (16 x 16 x 4 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Aoyama Tetsuro was born in Gifu, home of the Mino potteries, in 1946. He apprenticed under Kato Jin in 1961, moving out on his own in 1973. He has exhibited at the Nitten, Nihon Shin...

Described on the wood box as a tokkuri (sake flask) with kin-kousai (metallic Iris) glaze, the size and form would allow this piece to function just as well as a small flower vase. As the name on the box suggests, the various metallic glazes in purple, bronze, and blueish-green are meant to represent the colors of the Iris that, in Japan, is associated with the expression of heroic deeds and thought to have purifying properties that help ward off evil.

The craftsman who made this pi...

There is a lot of drama and tension between the various facets of this ash encrusted Shigaraki outcrop by Furutani Kazuya enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Mentori Hanaire. (Faceted Vase). Every angle offers a unique view, texture, glazing, form, a vase which you can never grow tired of. I see it with an angular branch of plum blossoms, or perhaps Nandina loaded with red berries. It is 33 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
...

An exquisite chawan tea bowl by Uraguchi Masayuki enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seiji Hyosai Chawan (Shattered Ice Celadon Tea Bowl). It is 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 8.5 cm (3-1/2 inches) tall and in perfect condition.
Uraguchi Masayuki (b. 1964) discovered pottery while attending the Tokyo National University of Fine Art and Music and his world turned when he was introduced to a Song Dynasty Seiji Vase" at the Tokyo National Museum designated a National Treasure dur...

A beautiful vessel by Kitamura Junko exhibiting the best of her handiwork. It is 16 cm (6-1/4 inches) diameter, 13.5 cm (5-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition. There is no box.
Kitamura Junko learned under the tutelage of Suzuki Osamu and Kondo Yutaka of the influential Sodeisha. Like Mashiko artist Shimaoka Tatsuzo, her work is influenced by Jomon pottery, however her approach is very different. After impressing patterns into the clay with bamboo and firing once with a dark sli...

Sadamitsu Sugimoto, a great master of the ceramic art scene in Japan, was led by Tachibana Daiki the great Zen teacher and has been producing a lot of masterpieces through over 40 years .He has been studying the world of “wabi, sabi, and yugen” as his life's theme. This piece was made as "manaitasara" to be used at Japanese cuisine or tea ceremony. His shigaraki(stoneware) pieces are made by archaic way in old style kiln "anagama" burning red pine wood, so those ashes are turned to natura...

A vibrant double vase covered in signature naïve designs by Yamashita Moe enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Morinoyoru (Night in the forest). It is 12 x 24.5 x 27 cm (5 x 10 x 11 inches) and is in excellent condition. Her work is filled with joie de vie, and one cannot escape a smile when viewing it. Even the box is painted with a bright green silhouette of the vase, titled and signed in pink!
Yamashita Moe graduated the Kyoto Zokei University of Art in 2004. Her work h...

Silver ray-skin texture covers this fabulous Katakuchi sake pot by Ichikawa Toru enclosed in the original signed wooden box. OMG a chilled Daiginjo served with this would have to taste like a million bucks! Like a footed softball, it is 12 cm (4-3/4 inches) diameter, ever so slightly shorter although it appears to be taller than it is wide.
One of my favorite artists, the innovative Ichikawa Toru was born in Tokyo in 1973. In 2015 he established his current studio in Bizen after 4 years ...

A powerful sake bottle in dark wet clay by Abe Anjin enclosed in the original signed double-wooden box titled Bizen Tokkuri. Once again Abe Anjin has proven his mastery of tradition with this superb rendition. Impurities in the clay mark the surface with pale ash dusts round the shoulders and rivulets of glaze running like lava down the side. In the lower raw clay hints of yellow flash where flame has licked the body.
Size, D 9.2 cm H 14.8 cm
Condition, Excellent
Born ...