Five serene white concave disks set on unique bases by Kato Yoshiyasu enclosed in the original signed and compartmentalized wooden box titled Asobi Kodai Hai, Gokyaku Soroi (Playful Foot Five Sake Cup Set). Each cup is roughly 8 cm (3-1/4 inches) diameter, and all are in excellent condition, from the artist this year. This set was assembled by the artist specifically for our gallery, and is the only boxed set like it in the world...

A crusty black clay vase by Sakata Jinnai enclosed in the original signed wood box. Sculpted out into a crescent, it roughly forms a 24 cm (9-1/2 inch) diameter circle. Excellent condition.
Sakata Jinnai was born in Tokyo in 1943, and began as an apprentice under the legendary Kamoda Shoji in 1964, establishing his first kiln in 1966...

A small peach-colored pebble shaped vase by Yamaguchi Michie enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The opening undulates in an organic manner, accentuating the natural state of the form. It is 17 x 15 x 14 cm and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist.
Yamaguchi Michie was born in Ichinomiya, Aichi, between the Seto and Mino pottery centers in 1964...

Loops of white decorate the dark pitted glaze of this quashed bowl from the kilns of Kyushu dating from the early to mid Edo period. The small foot is testament to dating, and there is much natural wear to the dark glaze. The vessel is 14 x 10 x 6 cm (5-1/2 x 4 x 2-1/2 inches) with an age darkened chip in the rim where it rolls over on itself. It comes in a silk bag enclosed in a black lacquered antique wood box...

The best sake related piece I have ever seen by Koinuma Michio enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled very simply Tokkuri. The draping curves and weep of color is superb, and sets this above all others. Michio has long been inspired by archaic forms, and this is reminiscent of the roughly 5000-year-old Jomon Venus (a National Treasure) unearthed in Chino, Nagano prefecture...

Crackled green glass pools in the center of this humble tea bowl by Ezaki Issei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Chawan. The works of Issei personify the humble virtues of the tea ceremony. They are imbued with a sense of Musakui (Lack of intention), a bowl that has come to be, rather than a bowl that was created. It is 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter, 5.5 cm (2-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

An elegant set of 5 oil spot glazed tea bowls with crackled white interiors by Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yuteki Yu Kumidashi Wan. Each is 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter, roughly the same height, and all are in perfect condition.
Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer. Discarding the family business, he apprenticed in plastic arts under future Living National Treasure Ishiguro Munemaro...

An iconic vessel by the sommelier of Tsuchi-aji (Clay flavor) Otani Shiro covered in a thick layer of charred goma-ash enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yakishime Tsubo. Inside the box lid it is dated 1984 with an annotation reading Chato Tennessee ni-te (Tea-ware in Tennessee). It is 20.5 cm (8 inches) diameter, 17 cm (just less than 7 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

Large stoneware jar with multi-color dripping glaze over a creamy white crackled glaze. The green is the traditional green of earlier Shigaraki ware, the blue as well, but a variety of brown, red, pink and black have been added to the palette. Inside and bottom covered in brown glaze with yellow spots. Japan, early Showa, 1920-1930s.
Height 17 inches (43.2 cm), diameter at shoulder ca. 17 inches (43.2 cm).
Mint condition.

A perfect example of the Early Edo Tea aesthetic in this Chatsubo dating from the first half of the Edo period, a splash of black over rust with a white glazed waste from the Seto region around modern day Nagoya. It comes with an ancient wooden bung and wrapping cloth. The pot is roughly 27 cm (11 inches) tall and in overall excellent condition, with typical wear around the foot. No cracks or repairs...

Fresh out of the oven, here is a delicious treat to start the new year right, a crusty dancing form by Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Mimitsuki Hana-ire. Not only does the vase itself feel alive with movement, but the encrustations of ash and glossy molten ash glaze seem to be still in formation, as if it is still settling in the kiln. It is 26 cm (10 inches) tall and in perfect condition...

Mizusashi or kensui in the shape of a Chinese boy, or karako, holding Hotei’s large bag over his shoulder, as if dragging it.

Over brownish beige very fine stoneware a layer of mottled brown glaze has been applied, over which a blue-green finely crackled flambé dripping glaze...

A stunning and unusual Chawan tea bowl in burnt orange glaze with abstract splashes of black by Kawamoto GOro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Perfectly formed, with a wide base and slightly concave sides leading to a pouty rim, all draped in this haunting ochre with poured black graffiti. A masterpiece by this important artist. It is 11.5 cm (4-1/2 inches) diameter, 8 cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Kawamoto Goro (1919-1986) was born in Seto to a family...

Lavender and aquamarine coat the surface of this vase from the Kairakuen Kilns of the Ki branch of the Tokugawa family dating from the 19th century. The circular window between floral scrolls is made in the shape of the archaic character Kotobuki. The vase is 18 cm (7 inches) tall and in excellent condition, and bears the Kairakuen seal impressed into the base. It comes enclosed in an old kiri-wood collectors box titled Kairakuen-ki Juji Moyo Kabin (Kairakuen Vessel decorated with Character of f...

A covered container made as an incense burner by Koyama Kiyoko slabbed and cored from Shigaraki clay and covered in glassy green motlen ash enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 13.5 cm (5-1/2 inches) diameter, roughly the same height and in excellent condition.
Koyama Kiyoko was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1936. Following the second world war the family moved to Shiga prefecture, eventually settling in the pottery village of Shigaraki. She took a job as a ceramic painter's ...

I find this piece captivating, the golden thorns rupturing the rough and blank matte white clay. When I asked the artist about his concept, he explained the clay body is the individual formed by self-image, societal pressure, ego, all the things which constrict our actions and channel our emotions. The thorns are the true inner self bursting out of the surface, irrepressible, they pierce the shell and shine like the sun. Though the visible surface may be flat, rough-hewn, colorful, torn, mat...

A large primitive robotic form by Morino Taimei in his iconic blue and gold dating from his experimental days in the early 1970 enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Soji Shiho Kabin. It is 12 inches (30 cm) tall, 6 inches (15 cm) square and in excellent condition.
Taimei was born in Kyoto in 1934, and was first accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition at a relatively young age in 1957 (a year before graduating the Kyoto Municipal University of Fine Art!). In 1960 he recei...

A pottery box decorated in over-glaze enamels and precious metals by Kato Reikichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Sengiri Jikiro.　It is a colorful and playful work a pleasure to look upon. It is 9-1/2 x 5-1/2 x 8 inches (24 x 14 x 20 cm) and is in excellent condition.
Kato Reikichi was born in 1953 the 22nd generation of an unbroken line of potters spanning back to the Keicho era in the Momoyama period. He graduated the art department of Tamagawa University and has s...