CENSER

This is an old photo, recently transferred from a 35mm slide to a digital image and was the very first picture I took on my first trip to Shigaraki. The photo was taken in front of the shop of Tani Seiuemon and is of a large, articulated and reticulated censer, koro flanked by two large dragons and a wild shishi atop the lid. The koro rests on three study legs and has a wonderful floral style decoration created by cutting through the outer wall of this double wall vessel and the surface is coated in just the right blend of hiiro and ash making for a rather feudal looking pot, several hundred years older than it actually was. Tani-san was gracious and allowed us to take photos and handle quite a few pots while serving us tea and sweets but this pot was neither for sale or to be handled and in truth, I am not sure I can blame him. We parted this trip with a small uzukumaru tsubo and a gift of a meoto yunomi set and some pictures to help jog my memory all these years later.