PRETTY CLOSE

Illustrated is what can only be described as a classic, quintessential  Shigaraki Oni-oke mizusashi  by long time veteran potter, Okuda Eizan. Thrown out of a fairly processed Shigaraki clay, meaning less stones and inclusions in the clay, this pot is the perfect shape and size for use with just a few banded potter's marks running horizontally around the piece which terminates in a big, fat rolled lip which immediately captures one's attention. Okuda who is know for his firing style, katami-gawari where front and back have two distinct appearance though in this case it is not quite as night and day as I have seen on some of his anagama wood fired pots. The face of this mizusashi is covered in a sheet of glass which appears to be in perpetual motion away from the point of maximum inpact. fading away as running tendrils of ash embracing the piece before ending up spent of energy leaving an area of hi-iro abstractly decorated by running ash and large bidoro drips here and there. I don't think I can go so far as to say perfect surface and perfect form but it certainly does get pretty close.         

As for Okuda Eizan (B.1944), though perhaps not as well know or popular in the West, he springs from a family tradition working in Shigaraki Valley where he has shown his work over the decades as well as around all of Japan. Though best known for his wood fired Shigaraki pottery, Okuda has branched out and works in a wide variety of glazed ware adhering to the Urasenke tea school sense of teaware which at first glance would hardly be recognizable as work from his hand so diverse is his output. Added to a lifetime of discipline and exhibitions, Okuda received the patronage and guidance of the somewhat eccentric priest, Shimizu Kosho, head of the Todai-ji temple. Though this is an abbreviated biography, I think it is safe to conclude that Okuda Eizan is one of those individuals who likely personify the concept of adding as much to one's repertoire and plate to best understand all aspects of craft and art that much better, from pottery making to tea ceremony and their unending and unyielding symbiotic relationship.