This interesting chaire (tea caddy) is part of a series of mostly antique and vintage items that we recovered from the storehouse of a retired construction contractor. His house is located in the southern part of Kyoto, where buildings from the Edo and Meiji periods still stand. His son not being interested in inheriting his father's collection, we were asked to take them out, and we are now able to present them to you.

This particular piece is a little bit of a mistery...

This beautiful set of two Bizen kaki (flower pots) was made by an artist named Moritoki Taiyu. Bizen is one of the six oldest remaining Japanese pottery traditions. Bizen is a small town in Okayama prefecture (ancient Bizen province). There, for more than one thousand years, potters have been producing a sober yet strong looking wood fired ceramic...

An attractive suiteki (water dropper; used by calligraphers when they dissolve sumi ink in water) made by an artist named Moritoki Taiyu. It is a Bizen ware, from one of the six oldest remaining Japanese pottery traditions. Bizen is a small town in Okayama prefecture (ancient Bizen province). There, for more than one thousand years, potters have been producing a sober yet strong looking wood fired ceramic...

Here is a beautiful Shigaraki ware set for sencha. Unlike matcha (powdered tea), the tea for sencha is simmered and the leaves are not ground. It is by far the most drunk tea in Japan, and it is usually enjoyed in informal settings.

This particular set is made in the Shigaraki style of pottery and contains 7 pieces: one tea pot, one yuzamashi (vessel to cool the water) and five cups.

Shigaraki is one of the oldest pottery traditions in Japan...

Here is an elegant kogo (incense box) made in the sometsuke style (white porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue designs). Sometsuke pottery seems to have originated in the Middle East and Persia, but it is in China, and later, Japan that the techniques have attained their highest levels and that produced works have been the most remarkable.

This particular piece made in the shape of a mikan (mandarin) presents the refined patterns of the Kyo-yaki (Kyoto ware) tradition...

A beautiful chawan (tea bowl) with a milky pink robe and the always fascinating “ato-yubi” (the spots left bare of glaze by the potters' fingers) at the bowl's foot. This is a rare vessel made in the eastern part of Osaka, in a town called Habikino.

The bowl bears the seal of its maker, a single character which means “east”. There is also an engraving inside the foot rim that reads “Habikino”...

Here is a beautiful set of 6 small hand-painted porcelain plates made at the kiln of Kakiemon XII (1878-1963). The name Kakiemon has been associated with superior craftsmanship since the 17th century...

A splendid tokkuri (sake pouring vessel) made by a Bizen potter named Buyo Shin, born in 1936.

Bizen pottery is a more than one thousand year old tradition, characterized by a usually reddish, strong ironlike body, which is traditionally unglazed but may feature ash glaze from wood firing.

After having studied with famous potter Fujiwara Rakuzan (1910-1996), Buyo Shin established his kiln in the city of Bizen in 1968.

Please let us know if you have some questions.

The tok...

This set of two beautiful shuhai (sake cups) is a skillfully made miniature reproduction of a set of two chawan (tea bowls) made by a legendary 17th century Japanese potter named Nonomura Ninsei. Ninsei is credited with being the father of Kyo-yaki (Kyoto ware), a pottery tradition that has its roots in both the stoicism of Zen temples and the refinement of the ancient imperial capital of Japan...

Fine Kyoto ware Futaoki – stand on which the kettle's lid and the water ladle are placed during the tea ceremony – of cylindrical shape by Kaga Zuizan, decorated with irises in various colored enamels and gold on a grey-blue ground, based on a pattern by Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743), famous potter of Edo era.
Born in 1944 in Kuwana (Mie Prefecture), Kaga Zuizan III studied under his grandfather Kaga Zuizan I, and inherited the name Zuizan from his father in 1984...

This splendid chaire (tea caddy) is part of a series of mostly antique and vintage items that we recovered from the storehouse of a retired construction contractor. His house is located in the southern part of Kyoto, where buildings from the Edo and Meiji periods still stand. His son not being interested in inheriting his father's collection, we were asked to take them out, and we are now able to present them to you.

This particular piece is made in the Seto pottery tradition...

Pretty futaoki – lid rest used during the tea ceremony – by Tamamura Toyo, presenting creamy and reddish brown tones, typical of Hagi ware.
Tamamura Toyo was born in 1938 in the city of Hagi. He studied pottery with his father Tamamura Shogetsu I; he is the brother of Tamamura Shogetsu II.
The condition of the object is excellent...