WELL YES, I GUESS I DO

I wonder when it is with some many other pots that you have to admit that you may collect kogo? Is it four, perhaps a dozen or two, when does it become clear that besides having a problem in general that you collect yet another type of vessel that you didn't really think was on your radar? To be fair, on numerous trips to Japan, the number one gift or presento from Japanese potters was in fact a kogo and that really forms the core of this collection. Kogo from Furutani Michio, Honiwa Rakunyu, Ueda Naokata, Tani Seiuemon and others and that is only the pieces from Shigaraki potters, then on to Bizen, Mashiko, Gifu, Hagi among other destinations and the next thing you know after a number of trips you have two dozen or more kogo. Over the years with places like the ubiquitous auction site and a few Western dealers in Japan and now you have another healthy dozen and before you know it you have more kogo than any other type of pottery. Admittedly, this group of kogo takes up a rather small amount of space, perhaps as much as a medium tsubo, all tucked away in their nice little storage boxes with a couple on display at any given moment but still when asked, "do you collect kogo?", it still takes a moment to resonate, "well yes, I guess I do". 

Illustrated is a nice, idiosyncratic mentori kogo by Kohyama Yasuhisa that was a gift to my wife quite a few years back from the potter. Hand formed out of one small amount of Shigaraki clay, the basic form was arrived at prior to the piece being cut to shape and then cut in half, hollowed out and a lip added to secure the lid was formed. Fired somewhere in between pots at the back of the kiln, this kogo has a pleasant, inviting and toasty exterior which is just a shade lighter buff clay color on the interior and perfect for its function. As I said, I am not sure I would have considered myself a kogo collector but the truth is that I really love pots and this diminutive pot is just another form of expression though a bit smaller that what usually ends up coming my way.