A rare large work blasted with natural ash glaze by Koyama Kiyoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Kama-shizuku O-Tsubo. The rim is crusty and shows Shinshoku (degradation from the flame) a testament to her infamously long firing times. The front is coated in a flow of green and olive ash, while on the raw earth of the back a single drip (shizuku) from the kiln roof has landed as a colorful accent...

Traditional wood fired Aka-Shino chaire made by the late Kato Yasukage XIV prior to changing his name to Yasukage and thus the box is signed Kato Shoji. Elegant and traditional in form with quick, gestural spatula marks on the front and back the rich, nearly crimson iron surface is painted with a nice dusting of wood ash from the wood firing with throwing marks adding to the overall decoration...

Large and impressive hikidashi-kuro, black Bizen chawan by Akiya masao. Measuring 14 x 11 cm, the chawan is in perfect condition with original signed box and is quite a wonderful handful. The surface is rich with wet ash on the exterior and interior and the surface is also decorated with diagonal slashes that add to the tactile quality.

Akiya Masao was born near Tokyo and after completing college at the Toyo Institute of Art embarked on a path to become a full time Bizen potter...

An iconic large tea bowl by Mino legend Kawamoto Goro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Haiyu Chawan. It is 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 9 cm tall and in excellent condition. Kawamoto Goro (1919-1986) was born in Seto to a family of potters. He studied in Kyoto at the same institution as Kawai Kanjiro and Hamada Shoji. Returning to work at the family kiln, he was later adopted by Kawamoto Rekitei, a famous decorator of pottery...

Large and heavily textured henko vase glazed in one of my Oribe glazes with accents of iron about the surface.

Stoneware and glazes

11.5" x 9" x 4.25"

A spectacular Shino Vase in deep Murasaki, and white by Tamaoki Yasuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shino Tsubo. It is 14-3/4 inches (39 cm) tall, roughly 26 cm (10-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Tamaoki Yasuo was born in Tajimi in 1941, one of the homes of Mino ware...

Simple saffron glazed stoneware neriage water jar with vivid patterning and two small gold lacquer dots on the body

Stoneware and glazes

7.25" x 6.25"

Functional, decorative and food safe

A broken open Tsubo By Kim Hono enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Chikyu no Tameiki (The Earth Sighs). It is for the most part, raw earthen colors, with a thick pool of tinted aquamarine glass inside. It is 40 x 34 x 41.5 (16 x 13-1/2 x 16-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition. Upon the box is drawn an image of the Tsubo with a single dried lotus seed pod rising from within...

This raw form covered in scorched white has been slabbed off in the Shinogi style by Atarashi Manabu. The word Shinogi denotes the curve on a samurai Sword blade, and has come to be used in pottery to describe things which have been scored or sculpted with a knife. The sake vessel is 15.5 cm (6 inches) tall and in excellent condition and comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shino Shinogi Tokkuri...

A large Tsubo with ruptured rim burnt to a mellow orange with a dusting of natural ash glaze on the shoulder by important Shigaraki artist Sawa Kiyotsugu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Tsuboi. Comb marks sweep the surface like rake marks in a Zen garden, a meandering trail scored into the side like a mountain path. Slightly misshapen, it is roughly 30 x 31 x 33 cm (12-1/4 x 12 x 13 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Sawa Kiyotsugu (b...

Vivid yellow streaked with glassy Oribe green glaze highlights the sculpted middle of this exquisite covered jar by important artist Hayashi Shotaro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oribe Mizusashi. It is entirely sculptural, with a refinement of glaze only this artist can create. Spectacular is all that comes to mind when viewing this groundbreaking artists work. The piece is 7 inches (18 cm) diameter, 6 inches (16 cm) tall and in perfect condition.
Hayashi Shotaro (b...

A rock textured Kurinuki tokkuri compliments this guinomi selected to match by Inayoshi Osamu enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The Tokkuri is 5 inches (12 cm) tall, the Guinomi 2-3/4 inches (7 cm) diameter and both are in perfect condition, enclosed in the original wooden box from the artist this summer.
Inayoshi Osamu was born in Aichi prefecture, the heart of Mino country, in 1976...

A wonderful Oribe Chawan by Higashida Shigemasa enclosed in the original signed wooden box.

Born in Hiroshima in 1955 Shigemasa received his BA at Shimonoseki Municipal University in 1978 and did a postgraduate course in ceramics at Gifu Prefectural Tajimi Technical High School. He set up his studio in Tokyo where he works predominantly in Shino and Oribe...

Large Leafed Vines are silhouetted against age darkened silver on this striking covered basin by Banura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. A segment of vine serves as a handle on the lid and it appears to float above the table on three ribbon feet. It is 25 cm (10 inches) diameter, 15 cm (6 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Banura Shiro (1941-2001) was born the fourth son of influential Lacquer Artist Banura Shogo. His sensitivity to textures may stem from that exa...

Kishimoto Kennin at his best, deep in the clay of Iga, a slightly misshapen vase covered in a splash of ash glaze and dark charring, one side flattened down like a beret, a single drip of crystalline jade clinging to the rim. The vase is 29 cm (just under 12 inches) tall and in perfect condition, enclosed in the original signed wooden box.
Kishimoto Kennin has been working with clay since the 1950s, devouring styles along the way. Shino, Seto, Oribe, Iga and Celadon, all very different a...

A solid brick of Shigaraki clay sculpted and torn covered in natural ash glaze by Fujimoto Hide enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Katamari (Mass). It is 24 x 16.5 x 17.5 cm (9-1/2 x 6-1/2 x 6-3/4 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Fujimoto is inspired by the natural world around him, and the return to nature of the discarded and redundant remains of our civilization. He told me this piece was influenced by pier blocks he had seen covered in m...

A earth-textured smoky black vase by Sato Kazuhiko enclosed in a superb signed wooden boxwith mori-buta (domed-lid) titled Kokuto Tsubo. It is 34.5 cm (13-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition. One of my personal favorites, Sato Kazuhiko was born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1947. He graduated the Tokyo University of Art Ceramic department advanced studies in 1972. Trained under Living National Treasures Tamura Koichi and Fujimoto Yoshimichi, his graduation work was awarded a prize. He he...

A flash of gold blazes on the raw earth side of this masterpiece tea bowl by Kato Kiyoyuki enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hai-yu Chawan. Green ash runs down opposite the iridescent flash of gold. Inside the ash sees to catch on the horizontal furrows left by the artists fingers. It is 12.7 cm (5 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Kato Kiyoyuki was born in 1931, the heir to a long-established tile-making business in Seto. He studied ceramics at high school h...