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Kukuri, Kani, Okaya, and Ohira are the names of places in Gifu prefecture where the classic Mino wares of the late 16th C. were fired; the greatest kiln being that of Mutabora. The relationship between Mino and the Way of Tea has basically continued on to this very day. Of course there was a lapse in the Meiji period with a great revival beginning in the 1930s. Some grand masters from that time have left their mark on the potting world, Kato Tokuro and Arakawa Toyozo being the 'gods.' The second wave saw other names rise with one being the late great Okuiso Eiroku(1930-1987). The famed writer Hayashiya Seizo wrote many essays about Okuiso praising his work, his writings, and the way he fired his o-gama (large kiln). Okuiso was a great potter and scholar who wrote books on how to create Mino in the classical way. This is the first Okuiso 'hybrid' work we've offered, it being a Mino-Karatsu te-bachi handled serving vessel. The Mino part is the clay with the glazing and the brush painting being a cross of Mino and Karatsu; it's a very wabi-sabi piece with great 'clay flavor' and other 'landscapes' such a stone bursts and crazing. There are a few firing cracks, yet these only add to overall Tea-Zen feel to the piece, and Okuiso also thought so as it comes in his original signed box. In excellent condition, 12.5cm.tallx20.5x19, a rare piece.
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