HARMONY

I know I use the term classic rather frequently but I think it certainly applies to this Kawai-mon covered box by Kawai Takeichi. Building off the Mingei movement, this molded covered box form has been thoughtfully designed for use with the top of the piece projecting out over the walls making it easy to use and pick up, a bit like a hidden, ergonomic handle. Made of a porous stoneware clay, the pot is covered in a white glaze that has a slightly pearl effect across the surface and is classically decorated using iron, cobalt and copper to articulate the top of the box and center of each side panel with just the right amount of design. This flower design was commonly used by Takeichi on plates, bowls, vases and boxes where less is more and strikes the perfect balance between the (Kyoto) aesthetic and utilitarian form. Though the Kawai school steps just outside the stricter guidance of the Mingei movement, it is clear that like his mentor, Kawai Takeichi took the maxim, “beauty born of use” quite literally in his need to secure function, form and decoration acting in harmony. 

THE PROCESS IS CONTINUOUS

 

Though slightly on the small size, every chance encounter with the Hishoku Nanban-yaki pottery of Sakauchi Ensen is an enjoyable encounter. This vase is based on a classic, old school wooden kinuta, mallet and the proportions of neck to base work well and are well suited for any impressed use from fan holder to traditional flower vase. Among Sakauchi’s fancifully painted landscapes, this particular piece, well the firing stands out as a bit more unusual as there is a significant array of rich, deep iron red on one side, with rivulets of color running down the base of the piece as well as around 60% of the flattish lip area at the very top, the remainder flanked in green. Though I don’t necessarily consider this effect rare, it is surely serendipity when it occurs. These variations add a visual punch to an already intriguing and unusual landscape painted from carefully chosen clay, varying woods and what must have been a less than simple firing schedule. If possible, I would love to hear the explanation of each milestone toward this surface and exactly how he got there, one firing heaped on top of another, as 3rd Force maintains, “the process is continuous”.

BASIC

I was trying to figure out the best way to describe this bowl and the word basic came to mind and though I don’t think of the term basic with any negative connotation, I realize some may. What I mean is that this bowl is pretty much built for use with some nods to aesthetics thrown in for good measure from the banding, stamping and the rich, green Oribe surface. I think that despite the stamping and banding, this is a simple bowl in form and execution finding its inspiration from the fundamentals I learned a long time ago now. In point of fact, this simple teabowl was intended as a companion for an Oribe waterjar, finished in similar stamping, banding and glaze and together I think they both are cut for simplicity with just enough bells and whistles to get by and let’s not forget that rich, deep green.

 

THE PAST

Illustrated is a low flat Hachi style Iga mizusashi flanked by and reflecting the moon in the background. Made by Konishi Heinai II and prominently marked with the Taiko-gama seal, this was potted a bit on the heavy side, slightly deformed while wet and had a series of rough gouged decoration articulated around the form. The interior of this mizusashi holds an intriguing surprise, there is a pearlescent glaze with drifting strokes of gold representing grasses which much look like some old Rimpa design when filled with water. Added to this one surprise, there is another detail that I find quite appealing, the base, the bottom of the pot has an impressed wood pattern design, likely from where the wet pot was placed becoming part of the overall antique sensibility tying the mizusashi to feudal pots of a different time. 

Konishi Heinai II who specialized in Raku and Iga pottery had quite the skill for filling his clay works with a sense of timeless where they appear far older than they are. Was he a potter born out of time or a potter determined to forward an aesthetic that time cannot and should not abandon at a time when modernity and art stylings seem to prevail? I am perpetually thankful that there are potters who see the past as an adventure to explore everyday moving forward.

FRAGRANCE

Keeping on the koro theme to end the week, here is a simple and very Chinese influenced Jun style koro by Kimura Morinobu. The form is classic, resting on a tripod configuration and puffing out to express the fullest volume possible in a pot you can hold in the palm of your hand. My suspicion is that the glaze was engineered out of some wood ash or another and visually, the koro has three distinct bands of coloration; the pale blue seiji at the base, the wildly textured purple at the top of the form completed by a rich, dark wood pierced and carved lid with a dramatic carnelian knob.      

What one can take away from Morinobu’s koro is the sense of purpose, where function is paramount and the intent visually is rooted in the allusion of fragrance where a small amount of clay, ash and fire build a bridge between the physical and emotional realms. I many respects, I would expect nothing less from Kimura Morinobu where potter and pottery look to Kyoto aesthetics, then skillfully infused this vocabulary into much of his work.

A butterfly poised
On a tender orchid,
How sweetly the incense
Burns on its wings      Matsuo Bashō

SPLASH AND DASH

In the sun sometimes makes a big difference in seeing the details of my Ao+ glazed pieces. In this case, a small khaotique slipped cap jar decorated in a splash and dash style though there is some rhyme and reason to it which may seem hard to believe. The black slip was applied rather quickly in a very spontaneous manner that I have repeated on pots for quite a long while, what is rather interesting is that at some points, where there is black slip under the gosu style surface, there is a neat, droozy quality that adds a bit of subtlety to the overall surface. From this firing way back in 2025, there were several of these smaller cap jars made to fit neatly between some vases that were ordered which made for a nice, full kiln. I need to remember to wait for the sun to come out, a rare occurrence these days to photograph this particular glaze surface as it brings out the effects and truer nature of the pieces than relying on a 200watt tungsten bulb, once again all natural is the best way to go!

HAGI NERIAGE

If memory serves me, the very first piece of Hagi neriage pottery I ever encountered was a faceted vase form by Yamato Yasuo. The vase was a variety of earthy tones covered in a semi-transparent ash glaze which created an insight into the geology of the throwing. This neriage koro was made by Yamato Tsutomu, son of Yasuo and as one would expect, it shows many of the same characteristics and overall sensibility. The neriage that surrounds this koro has an array of earthy tones and pattern like the side of a hill, cleaved open and covered in a wisp of mist circling the form adding a dimension to the pot that keeps the eye engaged before moving on and upward to the lid. Thrown and patterned in a similar fashion, the lid has a grouping of triangular piercing dedicated to the function of the pot, it is simple and direct and completes the package in part by echoing the pattern at the bottom of the three footed base. Though clearing maneuvering within his father’s footsteps, Yamato Tsutomu works within a tradition begun by the father and now passed on to son and future generations.

WHAT A PAIR III

Illustrated is a pair of Shigaraki, haikaburi chawan by Kohyama Yasuhisa framed with sunlight and shadow. While I have posted these separately previously, I had actually forgotten that this pair were like passing ships in the night, one mine and the other going to a far-off collector. At any rate, I felt these qualified for the “what a pair” commentary as there are many similarities and differences between them as if no two snowflakes are alike, the same can be said for some potters; their pots and how they work, especially where wood firing is involved. On the left, the form is both lower and wider with an array of distinct effects while the taller, more compact bowl on the right has that wangata sensibility dominated on the face by a deep, dark crust of ash built up due to the intensity of wood and flame. Forgotten photo, now surfaced and posted, showing not one but two chawan by a potter of favored status and everyone knows, the only thing better than one is of course, two.

ONE AND DONE?

Illustrated is a stoneware handbuilt bottle with thick impasto slip and my Oribe glaze surface. Like with other one and done pots, this came about by using up the cut away slab pieces from slabs used for hump molded tray forms. What I was left over with were these unique shapes which immediately made me think of this form. Once assembled I took a few minutes and threw a neck/ mouth to complete the form, dried it out a bit and attached it to the slab body hoping they were close enough in consistency. I “sacked” it (in a plastic bag) for a day and then applied the thick impasto slip and once out of the bisque, no losses, no cracks and the neck was still firmly attached. A quick bath in three different glazes and though it ran a small amount, overall not too bad for a one and done made out of scrap slabs of very specific shapes. I am not thinking this is something I am going to chase to the ends of the earth but it was a neat way to spend a half and hour and a couple less pounds of clay that would have had to have been reconstituted, in other words, a win-win.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Over the years I have seen and handled quite a few pots by Tsukigata Nahiko. In that time I have seen a wide array of descriptive terms used when signing the box where sometimes a pot is just, “Oni-Shino” and other times it is “Kujaku Oni-Shino” or any number of other descriptions. To this day, I am never quite sure where Tsukigata draws the line, well a fine line in how exactly he decides to describe a piece, telling you exactly what you are looking at, but what’s in a name after all?  

The pot that got me thinking about this again is this particular Shino, wood fired chawan, the box is clearly marked Ko-Shino while accompanying the pot is a personal letter by the potter in which he refers to the piece as Oni-Shino, together with this letter is also a placard (with corresponding number) from his exhibition where it is clearly written; Oni-Shino Chawan along with the original price. Pardon me if I am a bit confused but I think I would have originally gone with the box inscription first and foremost but the two “goes-withs” do leave me wondering, which is it and is the box or the letter the best way to describe the bowl? I think I will stick with the hako-gaki and assume when it was boxed, Ko-Shino was exactly what it was, end of story.

HERE & NOW

I have to admit; this particular pot really tests my memory. If memory serves me correctly, this pot was fired while I was at the studio of Kohyama Yasuhisa back in 1993 and the bio and box signature at least add some credence to that thought. Back in 1993, the use of 35mm slide and regular film did not afford one the option to takes hundreds and hundreds of photos so I was a bit careful about what I photographed and sketched but pots of this form and size tend to stand out in my memory and searching out old photos and images has proved fruitless to date.  

At any rate, here is a classic Shigaraki (haikaburi) mentori henko by Kohyama Yasuhisa circa 1993, the form is rather strong and simple yet it cuts a rather imposing figure sitting on a shelf or desktop. The form is ever so slightly articulated by the impressions, the marks created by the wire cutting process that has been accentuated during the firing. There are distinct “zones” of ash fall with the shoulder and mouth receiving the heaviest amount of buildup down to the base which shows evidence of sitting in a small amount of charcoal during the firing. Also as you can see in the photo, the mouth of the vase is large and well supported by the broad nature of the overall base, body of the piece. In reality, it doesn’t really matter when and where but rather that I had the chance to see and study the piece in the here and now.

WBW 1/21/2026

I kind of thought this Odyssey (Homer) inspired large ishime-ji wall bowl would be a perfect “way back Wednesday” post. I can’t remember exactly when this was made but likely around 2000 or so. The bowl is stoneware, maybe 20” across with incised decoration with inlaid white against the black-grey engobe. I started making these Homer influenced pieces back in the mid-90s after deciding to re-read THE ODYSSEY (and THE ILIAD) and they were great fun to make if not a bit tricky to inlay the white against the background, also a play on ancient Greek pottery. I am often reminded of the George Santayana's quote; "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, maybe revisiting and remembering old work isn’t such a bad thing where repeating it brings new perspectives.

EARLY

Illustrated is a rather stoic, formal and early Shino vase by Tamaoki Yasuo. What’s that you ask, just how early is this kinuta hanaire? With fortune smiling, this boxed vase came with a small catalogue, all in B&W from an early exhibition at Kuroda Toen dated Showa 47 (1972) and while I am sure there are earlier pieces, this is the earliest, definitively dated piece that I have encountered. Like much of Tamaoki’s early work, this pot is sturdy, and as I mentioned very formal in presentation, the proportions are strong and overall relies on the deliberate nature of the glazing to add movement to the piece. There is a simple, Momoyama influenced landscape painted across the surface where areas of one layer of Shino moves over the rich red surface, creating brushstrokes of liquid movement. This pot is as good an example of Tamaoki’s work for the period and foreshadows what is to come where formality gives way to his more casual and liberated pieces, animated by form and surface learned over decades of a dedication to clay, glaze and firing where, “my work, which is in a state of searching and searching, will go on*”.

 (* Tamaoki Yasuo, 1992)

葛屋香合

I found this crunchy, barnacle encrusted little fellow hiding in plain sight, mixed among toy cars, old transistor radios and other bric-a-brac in the offerings of a general, second-hand dealer on the web. While that was interesting enough in the discovery, the fact of who, what, where and when was even more intriguing to me, obviously a Japanese Shigaraki kogo, made sometime prior to 1992 and by Kohyama Yasuhisa. For anyone who knows Kohyama’s work, the firing, well the surface is something of an anomaly considering his preference for quiet, restrained surface development but this little gem must have been somewhere where the fullest weight and ferocity of the firing came to bare as if laser focused on this diminutive and limited lump of clay formed into a traditional Japanese house complete with thatched roof (kuzuya-kogo, 葛屋香合).     

I should mention, sometimes when a piece like this comes along, I can’t help but be pleased as punch. First off, I love diminutive pieces, secondly, I couldn’t ask for a more intense surface and third it is by a potter who's work I truly admire and acquiring a piece just outside of the normal body of work rarely hurts my feelings. I am glad I made that one more click on the mouse to encounter this Kohyama Yasuhisa kogo, small or not, it has a large presence and an even longer impact with a surface that at least in my experience is not often encountered.

LESSONS IN PHOTOGRAPHY

I realize the title of this post is more than a bit misleading considering it should be more about this is what not to learn when taking photographs but admittedly, this (faux) gosu surface is a bear to get right. After waiting a week for some actual sunlight to help show the surface of this teabowl, I decided to wing it with my single 200watt tungsten bulb and hope for the best. To fill in some of the gaps, the bowl was made of porcelain and then had a thin white slip coarsely brushed over the main part of the bowl before having black slip trailed and finger-printed over the piece ala khaotique style. The glaze is my Ao+ which was developed to in many respects a faux gosu after the Kawai-mon staple. 

This particular teabowl ended up a bit hotter in temperature than usual which has created a nice effect where it has pulled down the intensity of the color around the mouth and created wonderful, rich drips around the base of the bowl which you can just see in this photo. As for the lessons in photography, perhaps I’ll get this figured out some day with multiple lights, reflecting umbrellas and whatever equipment I would need but for now the hold the floodlight and point and shot method will just have to suffice, I need to get a handle on this pottery thing before I move on to another pursuit.

WHEAT/ CHAFF

There is something that is just pure magic where Hirosaki Hiroya has based much of his work on Sung Dynasty hakuji, pure white porcelain where the simple, abstracted repoussé style floral design just sings across the surface. This particular vase has a few additional features that add to the overall presence of the vase form from the pieced foot ring to the double stepped mouth, both adding to the pot rather than distracting from its purity. Though much of Hirosaki’s work is quite simple in concept and execution, the skillful use of a strong, resonant form and design that is distilled to the least amount of detail is honestly about as complex as it gets. How does a potter create a pot that is aware of its every detail while having removed all the superfluous elements while maintaining a strong and long-term conversation with the viewer? I wish I could answer that question but this ability is what separates the wheat from the chaff, so to speak and it is obvious that Hirosaki Hiroya knew exactly how to solve that conundrum.

MAGIC

Classic Nanban-oke style mizusashi with a twist, the pot surface is a yohen style glaze that shimmers and adds depth and volume to the form. Perhaps the real treat is when you remove the lacquer lid and peer into the reflective and mesmerizing interior, the water just adding to the atmosphere and mystery of the contents. This mizusashi was made by Fukumori Aya, wife of the yuteki and yohen specialist Fukumoro Morihiko, using a glaze he created and made use of to great effect over the years. Though I have seen several yuteki and yohen pieces by Fukumoro Aya, I think it is safe to say she is far better known for her painted, almost Kyoto style ceramics though having seen this mizusashi and a yuteki style chaire, I think it is quite safe to say, where ever she turns her attention, magic is likely to happen.

“EVER TRIED”

I won’t say this is a particularly exciting picture but it is what I am currently up to. Considering the time of year, the studio is a bit chilly and in the mid-50s and there aren’t a lot of orders so this tends to be the time I spend working on tests. First and foremost, I glazed up a handful of pots that needed to be glazed and set those aside and then began making up a group of 25 tests, some new and a few retests of older glazes with new materials. Of these tests, all will be put on stoneware, porcelain and small batch sandy clay pods to see what I get, in turn most of these will be tested with the group of existing glazes I use as well as trying out the new glazes in various combos, this process yields the greatest variety if not successes, that is statistically (?) possible.    

As cliché as this may sound, this has been my pathway to discovery; “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett

SPACE²

Beside the concept of how pottery is packed and shipped, I have to admit, I am always curious about how and where collector’s store their collections. Part of this interest is the fact that I have seen collections that have hundreds, even thousands of pots wondering just where are all those empty wood boxes? I suspect for most, having a handful of pots doesn’t really lead to taking up large portions of living space but when you get to several hundred or many multiples of that amount, I suspect some clever storage options are needed. Coupled with the ceramic occupation is that many decide to display all of their collections leading to the necessity of have space to have pottery out and more space for the wood storage boxes (space²). Our display/ storage strategy is simple, rotate the collection with only a small group of pots out at any given moment which can make a smaller collection seem more grand in scale.     

In one visit to NYC and seeing a rather fine collection, the exterior of the apartment walls, mostly windows were fitted with cabinet style shelves, this concealed the boxes and allowed for display on the tops of the running surfaces. I was later informed that there was actually an adjoining apartment that served as more storage and display areas, must be nice!     

Illustrated is a recent encounter of one collector’s answer to storage, between a hallway and a bedroom, which has become a sitting room of sorts, the walls have recessed, open shelves making for perfect storage of boxed pottery. Composed of a range of types, sizes and forms, the shelves are just out of the way as you move past them but perfect for holding quite a few pieces all with their hakogaki facing away from the lighting and any sun that finds its way there. I am sure there are quite a few options for storage, some unique, many redundant at least in concept but all a necessary consideration for every Japanese pottery collector.  

“The more storage you have, the more stuff you accumulate.”  Alexis Stewart

INTRIGUED

I have to admit, there are times when what I become focused on will, even surprise me. I wanted to share this crazy bowl I bought by Kobayashi Bunichi and as you may guess it not my normal type of bowl. I think I was in part inspired to be curious because of the surrounding facts; this was previously exhibited at a show in Mino Prefecture, won an award for being the best "utsushimono" copy (Ko-Seto), is in a catalogue and came with a personal letter from the potter as well as a full-page newspaper article which shows this chawan among others. Last and perhaps least was the original extravagant price tag, this mention may be a bit crass, though I was intrigued by the bowl, this helped pushed me over the edge to acquire it.     

Despite the real bargain nature of the piece, in hand I can say I am very pleased with it as despite being a bit outside of my norms, it has everything I look for in a chawan, function meets aesthetics. There is an authenticity to the pot, the throwing, trimming and casual glazing are all simple and direct not to mention it is a beast at 15.8cm, just my size of bowl! The surface variations and running glaze animates the piece  and the rough cuts around the foot, opening the clay texture and terminating in a modest sized kodai acts as the perfect pedestal for this conical form. All in all, I have no complaints and in fact, that is about the most I can ask for. On a side note, should also mention, the wood box is a class act as well?