Illustrated is a rather
simple Shigaraki mizusashi, the lines are neither fussy or terribly adventurous,
but with the few throwing marks around the pot, overall the piece works. The
face of the mizusashi is covered in a rather rich blue-green ash sheet with
tones of grey mixed in and the rear shows a rich fire color with ash deposited
over the top two-thirds of the piece, nestled nicely among the rhythm created
by the potter on the wheel. All in all it is rather practical and fitting piece
for the tea ceremony but what really peaks my interest is the potter. At first
glance there is little to give away regarding the identity of the maker but I
have seen this form before so I had an insight into its origins, think of the
pot covered in layers of Shino, iron and ash and the link to Tsukigata Nahiko
is completed. I have seen shizen-yu wood fired pieces by Tsukigata before though
they don't seem to pop up all that often, the occasional guinomi, tokkuri a
chawan and now this mizusashi. Though not best known for his unglazed pottery,
Tsukigata Nahiko wasn't content with his creation and use of Oni-Shino and this
mizusashi is another example of a potter who was interested in what forms looked
like across a broad spectrum of both glazed and unglazed surfaces and I would
assume he must have been fairly happy with one of his oft used forms in a new
set of clothing.
(As inexplicable as this is,
it has been three months since I made my last Tsukigata post! I was rather
surprised when this was pointed out to me the other day when someone asked me
if my interest in his pottery has waned. The answer is certainly not, the truth
is time flies but I have rectified the situation.)
.JPG)