1968

Last week I put up a blog post regarding a new, old book that I had recently received by Kuroda Ryoji published in 1968 and put up a picture of a somewhat early kinuta vase by Tsukigata Nahiko showing where his work stood at about that time. I mentioned that the front of the book had a handful of color plates representing the various artists which also included a photo of a rather early Oni-Shino vase by Tsukigata that would likely have to date from 1966 or 1967 showing how far along this style already was at that time period. The key to these pieces and what distinguished Tsukigata from his contemporaries is his use of thick iron in conjuction with the Shino glazes he used which was then subjected to an intense wood firing in an anagama style kiln in which he altered the woods and schedule of his firings. I should remark that another key feature that distinguishes him from other potters is the unique set of forms that he settled on early on in his career which he would alter and improve upon over his lifetime. These varying forms differ from his master, Arakawa Toyozo and draw on but are not wholly based on the aesthetics of the Momoyama era making Tsukigata a man of his times, modern and feudal all wrapped together in a variety of unique surfaces that saw they started in the 1960s as can be clearly seen in this illustration from 1968.