Illustrated
is a classic 1980s Oni-Shino vase by Tsukigata Nahiko; the photo is from an ad
for an exhibition in a Japanese ceramics magazine. This vase clearly shows the thick, viscous
Shino having been pulled apart and crawled during the firing and creating exposed
chasms of iron which also shows through the whiteness of the surface about the
pot as well. The upper portion of neck and shoulder show areas where natural
wood ash has built up and in some places is now dripping down the surface
making the whole pot a bit more complication through the intense firing
process. The addition of lugs to the form while not exactly unique are not seen
that often as a rule and add a dimension that the pot would seem to have
needed. This particular form is one of many that Tsukigata relied on over the
years having a rather casual and easy to use ambience for tea ceremony, ikebana
or for just every day use though the powerful surface would require just the
right accompaniment in a floral companion. I should also mention that though I
have not handled the vase in the advert, I have handled a number of the
Oni-Shino where the glaze was just super thick and unctuous having a gem like
appearance, perhaps a bit like opal without the chatoyant flashes but quite
provocative and beautiful on its own, I suspect even a hashi rest would be
quite wondrous. Add the fierce iron and natural ash and you end up with a
landscape like melting ice off a spires face to which a picture of a picture just cannot do
it justice.
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