Like most Shigaraki-wares, this piece has a somewhat primal feeling to it, as though it belongs to a previous geological era in time. Rivulets of vitrified green, grey, and yellow ash stand against a background gradient of soft to intense ochres of the clay body. The intense firing process of this type of pottery for days in an anagama kiln results in a beautiful ashen glaze with a warm, soft, yet vibrant glow when set in the light...

A charred Ash Glazed Mizusashi water container by Kumano Kurouemon enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Glaze is crisp but grows quite liquid as it drips down the molten form. On the side in bold strokes is written "Sonomamani", or "Just as it is".
A ceramic madman, oil painter and recluse, Kuroemon is as eccentric as his pottery predicts...

A spectacular work of charred dark clay by legendary potter Kakurezaki Ryuichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Kuro Bizen.  The angular form rises from a triad of block feet flaring out before breaking upon three sharp points at the shoulder, a narrow neck rising with a slight flare.  Dark upon one side clings blue-gray ash separated from the raw dark clay by a thin bead of pale brown color.  Texture, form, color, this one has it all! 
Size, D 8.8 cm ( 3.5 inc...

A playful Sake Set by Sawa Katsunori, each piece enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oribe Tokkuri and Oribe Guinomi respectively.  The capricious brush has worked over the various colors creating crosscurrents among the various themes which play off of each other .  The perfect compliment to the charms of a good bottle of sake. 
Size,The Tokkuri: is W 9,8  cm ( 3.9 inches)  H 16.0  cm ( 6.3 inches)  Size, Guinomi: is W 5.8  cm ( 2.3 inches)  H 5.2  cm ( 2.05 in...

I cannot help be see the incense stick burns in a Buddhist altar cloth when I look at this Shino Chaire by Wakao Toshisada which comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box.  Inevitably as more sticks of incense are added to a koro, some will break and fall onto the altar cloth, smoldering as they disappear into smoke, leaving only a fleeting scent and shadow-like scar in the drapery.  If one has ever been deep into the darkness of a temple, you may know the quiet feeling of contemplation...

A profusion of color descends the granulated surface of this traditional form by legendary potter Nakagawa Jinenbo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Chosen Karatsu Mimitsuki Hana-ire.  The grandiose embellishment of color creates a sublime sense of tension between the dark glazed and color infusion.  Although very much in the Chosen Karatsu tradition, the execution is unequivocally contemporary. 
Size, W 14.8 cm ( 6 inches)  H 24.5  cm ( 9-1/2 inches) 
Conditi...

Blasted and dripping with ash, a spectacular Shigaraki Mizusashi by Tanimoto Yo enclosed in the original signed wooden box. A shell juts from raw rippled wood lid like it was sticking up from the ripples of sand on a beach. It is 21.5 cm (8-1/2 inches) tall 18.5 cm (7 inches) diameter and in fine condition. Born in 1958 the son of Iga potter Tanimoto Kosei, Yo was raised among the kilns and has always had his hands in clay...

A black lacquered lid covers the opening of this exquisite mizusashi by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in a wooden box titled Oni Shino Mizusashi and endorsed by his student Ayukai Kogetsu. It is 7-1/2 inches (19 cm) diameter, 6 inches (15.5 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006) was not only an accomplished ceramic artist, but also a painter, calligrapher, sculptor and musician...

Like some giant medieval Lug, this solid form displays strength of purpose and somehow a devotion to all those Mizuashi that came before it; by Harada Shuroku and comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled very simply Bizen Mizusashi. Dark and awe inspiring, it shows to dramatic effect the path of flame in the kiln through the streaks of crusted ash and hi-iro on the sides interspersed with Shiso-iro gray-purple clay...

A superb Iga Mizusashi by Saji Kotaro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 7 inches (18 cm) diameter, 7-1/2 inches (19 cm) tall and in excellent condition. Saji Kotaro was born in 1947, and relocated to Tajimi in 1977 where he opened a kiln in Yamabuki cho specializing in tea ceramics.

A large organic Kurinuki Mizusashi in deep rich lavender glaze with ash charring by Kaneta Masanao enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 10 x 9-1/2 x 8 inches (25 x 24 x 20 cm) and in fine condition, dating circa 1995...

Rich rivulets of stunning green crystallize on the surface of this tokkuri sake-bottle by important Mino artist Hayashi Kotaro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The bottle is roughly 6 inches (15.5 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Kotaro was born in Gifu prefecture, and graduated the prefectural ceramic facility...

A powerful Mimitsuki Karatsu Mizusashi by Nakagawa Jinembo (Jinenbo b. 1953) enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Vicious white glaze, deeply fissured, supplants the fawn brown of the back, all over a very rough red clay filled with shiseki stones. The piece breathes energy, vivacious and playful it is a pleasure to view and use. The lid is similarly glazed, with hakeme brush marks inside. The piece is roughly 7 inches (18 cm) tall, the same diameter and in perfect condition...

No words to describe this incredible large vase by Koyama Kiyoko,signed on the base and enclosed in the original signed and stamped wooden box.

Kiyoko b.1936 started as a painter who drew designs on pottery. Today, she is considered one of the leading Shigaraki potters both nationally and internationally...

Mizusashi, Fresh Water Jar used in Chanoyu, by George Gledhill; Payette, ID. Wood fired with Shino Glaze interior. H. 4.875"(12.5cm) x Dia. 7.5"(19cm.) Mouth opening 4.5"(11.5cm.) Volume = 64oz (2,000cc.) There have been several influences to George Gledhill’s ceramic work...

Mizusashi, Fresh Water Jar used in Chanoyu, by George Gledhill; Payette, ID. Wood fired with Shino Glaze, ca. 2009. H. 5.75"(14.5cm) x Dia. 8"(20.25cm.) Mouth opening 4.125"(10.5cm.) Volume = 88oz (2,750cc.) There have been several influences to George Gledhill’s ceramic work. Buddhism has been a guiding force in life for many years, and George even visits local prisons to teach the Dharma to inmates. Through pottery and Buddhism, he was exposed to Tea practitioners who complimented his work a...

Mizusashi, Fresh Water Jar for Tea Ceremony. Also, Lidded jar for any storage use. Bamboo Ash Glaze. Lid Knob in shape or Orchid Flower. By Sachiko Furuya; Honolulu, HI. H. 4.875"(12cm) x Dia. 5.75"(14.5cm.) Volume = 1,000ml, approx 32 oz. Earlier piece of Furuya's, ca. 2005, when she was still in the Seattle, WA area. Sachiko Furuya hails from Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. There, she studied pottery with Yukio Matsuura, making primarily tea wares for practitioners of the Omotesenke School of Te...

A large mizusashi extolling thevirtues of True Momoyama Bizen by Abe Anjin enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The iron like quality of the work comes from the temperature at which Anjin fires, 200 degrees higher than most Bizen potters. Scars and interconnecting symbols harken back to the days of group firing and kiln marks. The piece is 7-1/2 inches (19 cm) diameter, 7 inches (18 cm) tall and in excellent condition. Very rare!
Born in Osaka in 1938, the mysterious recluse be...