AUTHENTICITY

With a dramatic flair and spontaneous and unfaltering movement the surface of this large O-tsubo is brought to life with a practiced and confident hand. Made by the late Hayashi Kotaro (1940-1981) it is quite evident where his younger brother, Shotaro learned the technique of making the most and best of each clay altering cut, facet or mark. Glazed in a rich Oribe, the glaze pools in depressions and tears along the surface creating dark, almost mysterious hues of greens that beckon to the viewer to investigate the depths of the textured surface reading the decoration as it circles of pot. I really love this glaze, it has an authenticity to it, it is simple and original and conjures up thoughts of early Edo Oribe. Despite it feudal presence it is bold and modern though made prior to Hayashi Kotaro's death in 1981, if pushed, it would be hard to say exactly when this pot was made.

ADDED TOUCH

A friend sent me a file filled with Japanese pottery pictures the other day and in it were two pictures of the same chawan that I put together as a single photo. Illustrated is a E-Shino chawan by Hayashi Kotaro (1940-1981), brother and mentor of Hayashi Shotaro and one of the original post-war Mino stand outs. His work is clearly and firmly rooted in the Momoyama revivalist mode and though conservative, it is both fresh and invigorating. The surface and painting are just right for this generous bowl which is accompanied by an added touch of a thoughtful and considerate potter; a wrapping cloth with both painted image and signature to help protect the bowl. There are a number of potters who provided painted or elaborately signed cloths and shikishi (even kakejiku) with some of their best and exhibition pieces and others who do so on the request of a patron or collector or just on a whim. Either way the added touch goes a long way to tell the viewer, "I care about this pot and hopefully, you will as well".