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...

Three gilded thorns shatter the matte white surface of this large vase by Masatomo Toi, a striking combination of ideas. It is from his Dilemma series, the only piece in matte finish. It is 20 cm (8 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Masatomo Toi was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1992, and graduated the Design course at the Tajimi Ceramics Research Facility in 2019. Since he has been developing his series of “Thorny” vessels and objects...

the silhouette of birds flit through the branches of the forest which rises up in white trunks on the verdant green of this flower receptacle by Yamaguchi Yoshihiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kasai Ju-in Mon Hanaike. The pebble textured surface is very unusual for Kutani ware, and bridges the glitzy world of porcelain and the more matte world of ceramics...

A shell shaped swirling form by young female artist Takatsu Mio enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 6-1/2 inches (16.5cm)wide, roughly 7 inches (18cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Takatsu Mio (b. 1976) was raised in Gifu prefecture among the scattered kilns of Mino. She graduated the Osaka University of Arts Sculpture Department in 1999, moving on to advanced studies which she completed in 2001. Her first exhibited works were in 1999, and then again in Tokyo in 2001...

Silver glistens inside the near matt core of this fabulous chawan by JCS Gold Award winner Ito Keiji enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 12 cm (5 inches) diameter, 9.5 cm (just less than 4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Ito Keiji was born in 1935, and has spent his life challenging the accepted concepts of traditional ceramics. He was awarded at the 1981 Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition...

A set of five Yunomi in pale glaze with green stripes by Koyama Fujio enclosed in the original wooden box titled Yunomi and signed Hananoki Gama. Each is 8 cm (3 inches) tall, 6 cm diameter and all are in excellent condition. The writing on the box is unmistakably that of Fujio.
Koyama Fujio was born in 1900 in Okayama Prefecture. From 1925 he studied under Mashimizu Zoroku and began making pottery in Kyoto...

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...

A superbly crafted and balanced trumpeting form by legendary tea bowl creator Sugimoto Sadamitsu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Ido Chawan. The bowl reflects the aesthetics of those imported Korean wares preferred by Sen-no-Rikyu in the Momoyama era. It has a bold, strong foot which rests perfectly on the table, both grounding the bowl and yet allowing it a sense of flight, as if the moment will soon be gone (and it will indeed!)...

A playful work by rising star Fukami Fuminori enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Narumi Manga Oribe Chuki.
Size, D 21.4 cm H 16.7 cm (including the handle)
Condition, Excellent
Fukami Fuminori is a potter and an illustrator, and a rising star. Born in Seto in 1980, he graduated the Seto Industrial Ceramic Facility in 2000, then apprenticed under Kishimoto Kennin for four years, moving out on his own in 2005...

A beautiful hand painted vase with a bamboo motif and a wagasa umbrella by Ikeda Shogo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Tanegashima Kohiki Henko. A thinly applied white slip covers the body and patches of fawn colored spots dot the surface. Bursting with life from the bottom, a bamboo spreads its leaves revealing a bright jewel under the rain. Kohiki ware is based on Yi Dynasty Korean Punch'ng ware preferred by the warriors in the Momoyama and early Edo period...

A wondeful sculpted covered box in pale earth-tones scribbled with natural motifs by Suzuki Goro enclosed in the original wooden box titled Narumi Oribe Futamono...

Here is a rare work reflecting the shape and character of this famous artist but in Bizen clay, Shigaraki yes, Iga yes, Shino and Kohiki yes, Bizen vase first time for me. A divine vase by Tsujimura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Hanaire. The shape is organic, with warm, rich coloration. A exemplary piece for exploring and appreciating the various kiln effects of Bizen clay and ash firing.
Size, D 14.6 cm H 26.1 cm
Condition, Excellent

A spectacular Vessel covered n a torrent of color by Kishimoto Kennin enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Shiho Mimitsuki Hanaire(Four Sides Iga Vase with Ears).Here is a piece with attitude! A proud Iga vase with two “ears” like elbows on its hips. It is as if his exuberance got the better of him, the characters beginning so stark and bold, running into a jumble of strokes as he culminates with the character life (ike), like the final crescendo in this opera of clay, fire ...

Here another igneous form by Tsujimura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Mentori Hanaire . Like the previous Shizen-yu work, this shows a state of nature, not a state of intent, as if the piece came to be. It is this sense of raw elementalism which puts Japanese pottery apart, and gives it its unique place of reverence in world ceramics.
Size, D 14.4 cm H 33.6 cm
Condition, Excellent
Tsujimura Shiro was born in Nara in 1947, and began his s...

Rich and Charred, the Ochre glaze has a texture which delights the bearer on this tea bowl by Hori Ichiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kiseto Chawan. Unlike the more monotonous works typical of Ki-seto, this has been darkened by ash and fire, testament to the storms in the kiln, and reminiscent of that rugged strip from which Mino-ware is born sandwiched between the violent coast and volcanic interior of central Japan. It is like the stone formed in that area: molten, it w...

An excellent companion to the Hagi Chawan also by this artist, here is a precipitous mountain form covered mostly in drifts of white and thin veneer of glaze over its gritty clay surface.  The form is that of the mountainous spires of Yabake, on the Island of Kyushu south of Hagi.  The Vase comes with Exhibition panflet with very similar vases like this one.
Size, D 12.4 cm ( 4.9 inches)  H 28.8  cm ( 11.3 inches) 
Condition, Excellent 
Saka Koraizaemon XII was born in T...

Red highlights the orange and white on this playful form vase by Kato Yasukage enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shino Hanaire and signed by the 14th Generation Yasukage followed by his seal. The pin-holed glaze burnt and licked crimson by the flames. The way the color fades into the white feldspar one can almost imagine the smoke rising off of the molten form as it cooled in the kiln.
Size, D 14.2 cm H 30.8 cm
Condition, Excellent
Kato Yasukage XIV (Sh...

A faceted bowl by modern master Ajiki Hiro,exhibiting the superb sense of design to be expected of this illustrious lineage enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shio-yu Wan and decorated with a sketch of a recluse staring out from his thatched hermitage. The slat glaze crawls on the surface as if it is alive, and it is alive with brilliant colors.
Size, D 12.8 cm H 10.4 cm
Condition, Excellent
Ajiki Hiro is an artist versed in many of Japans ceramic trad...