A while back, I
posted up an early mizusashi by Shigaraki potter, Kohyama Yasuhisa. Along with
Kohyama-san, rebirth of the anagama in Shigaraki Valley was in also due to the pioneering
efforts of Furutani Michio. Illustrated is a very early Shigaraki mizusashi by
Furutani Michio, though I am unsure when it was made, my best guess is sometime
before 1975. There is a nice soft dusting of natural fly ash on the face and
the rest of the pot is painted in various hues of hi-iro fire color. The work
by both Furutani and Kohyama were a quantum leap forward from what had replaced
the old medieval style of anagama firing in Shigaraki and Iga. Though wood
fired, the previous pottery had an applied ash glaze on the pottery that was
then wood fired. The works after the early 1970's were fired in anagama throughout
the valley and the surfaces were all natural, shinzen-yu; the results of hard
work, good long firings and the build up of natural ash circulating inside the
kiln as a natural extension of the process. Though this pot was made at the
beginning of Furutani Michio's career, it can be considered a milestone among
20th century Shigaraki/Iga pottery for being the product of a resurrected and
all natural,medieval tradition.
.JPG)