Though the form is famaliar, the surface is one
that is not so common, especially on a Tsukigata Nahiko mizusashi. The box is
simply marked, ONI-HAGI MIZUSASHI and the piece was likely made in the 1990s
and certainly owes some of its style to the pioneering works of Miwa Kyuwa and
his younger brother, Kyusetsu. This classic, thick white Hagi glaze was
"created by Miwa Kyuwa in the 1960s and came to its fruition with Miwa
Kyusetsu in the 1970s and 1980s ushering in a new style of glaze for the
tradition which spread throughout the region and ultimately across Japan.
Though lacking the black slip under the glaze, this surface by Tsukigata has
many of the classic attributes of Miwa Shira-Hagi but as you look closely you
can see the wet, iron rich stoneware peeking through the crawled surface
resembling melting snow giving hints that this is something a bit
different. Naming his borrowed glaze style, Oni-Hagi as he did with most of his
glazes and styles, Tsukigata used his glaze with care and thought creating a
thin wash of glaze around the foot and at the shoulder to show a contrast
within the overall surface. As I mentioned the form is classic for the potter
but the bright surface brings a fresh appearance to the pot much like trading a
dark suit for a stylish new white one. It is easy to see how the viewer would
be drawn to the piece but an even bigger appeal would be the feel of all the
hard, bumps and crawling glaze creating texture on texture, what a great
sensation.
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