A WRONG TURN MADE RIGHT

During my stay with Kohyama Yasuhisa back in 1993 I made a plan to go in to Kyoto one weekend as my wife's birthday was approaching and I figured how could I not find something special in such a city? I arrived in Kyoto about 9:30am and got something to eat and set about going to a few department stores and after that decided to wander the streets to see what I may discover. Using a flyer I had found I was looking for a small shop that specialized in silk incense figures when I made a wrong turn and suddenly found myself a bit turned around. As I was wandering I suddenly passed by a rather interesting but small gallery space and decided to go in and to be honest I am not sure who was more surprised, the potter and gallery owner or me. What I had stepped in to was an exhibition of exceptional Asahi-yaki pottery (from Uji, just outside of Kyoto) by Matsubayashi Hosai XIV  (1921-2004) who was there with his son, later Hosai XV (1950-2015) and though they were very polite and inviting, I think they thought I was looking for something a bit less expensive and truthfully, there was hardly a piece there beyond hashi sets and futaoki that I could have purchased. As best I could I explained I was staying in Shigaraki and with whom and the mood changed as the next thing I knew I was handling chawan the cost quite a tidy sum. In the end I did find several nice gifts for my wife, though not Asahi-yaki and what was a wrong turn was made right in what remains to this day an exceptional experience.

Illustrated is an excellent example of a Asahi-yaki chawan by Matsubayashi Hosai XIV made sometime around my encounter with him in the early 1990s. The form, throwing, foot and surface covered in gohon style spotting are all textbook Asahi characteristics and the hallmark of the Matsubayashi family who have played an important role in Kyoto pottery and tea ceremony going back centuries.