MUKUNOKI CELADON

When I think of Mukunoki Eizo what first comes to mind is the modern palette of Kawai Kanjiro with surfaces of Hamada and Mashiko slipped in for good measure. I rarely think of Chinese influenced celadon (or other glazes) for his work but I really need to remember that Kawai Kanjiro started his pursuit of pottery in testing and also using Chinese glazes for his work in the 1920's and 1930's. If you thumb through any book on Kawai you will run in to masterworks using Chinese glazes and techniques as well as celadon pieces as part of his early work.   

In this respect it is only fitting that Mukunoki Eizo would turn his attention to similar glazes during his career making pots, both influenced by his master and seeing the benefit of such surfaces to accentuate and bring his ideas to life. Turning his attention to seiji style glazes among others, this is a classic example of his work, thrown out of a white stoneware filled with feldspar inclusions the teabowl has been decorated with a florid sliptrail design around the entirety of the pot under a glaze of various thickness and fractures at times being rather thick and presenting a rather exotic appearance. This chawan is quite sturdy in posture, purpose and throwing with the glaze giving it a lighter appearance than it has in hand. Like his master, I am really rarely surprised by the form or surfaces that Mukunoki Eizo comes up with presenting a focused blend of the past and present as well as the master and disciple.