Tsuchiya Koitsu
Twilight in Suzukawa
Publisher: Takemura
Date: 1930s.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.5 x 7.5 inches.
Koitsu's "Kiyoshi" seal at lower right. Takemura publisher's seal at left.
Koitsu catalog no.: TK-TM-75.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Light foxing has been cleaned and stabilized. Repairs to paper thinning in sky. Two pinholes at top corners of image.

Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870 - 1949)
Ueno Shinobazu Pond
Date: 1939. First edition.
Size: Oban. Approximately 17 x 11.5 inches.
Publisher: Doi Sadaichi.
Carver: Kataoka. Printer: Yokoi.
Koitsu catalog no. TK-DH-58
Condition: Tape residue at top margin. Pencil note on back.
This rare first edition features differently printed clouds than in later examples. There are gofun highlights throughout the print.

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Zojoji Temple in Snow, 1933.
Size: Oban, approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches
Publisher: Doi Hangaten. Also bears Doi watermark.
Carver: Harada.
Printer: Yokoi.
This seal combination indicates an early post-war edition.
Condition: Excellent. A couple of nearly imperceptible waves in the paper.

Dark embers cling to this organic bottle form vase by Tsujimura Shiro marked on the side with his signature. It is a superb example of his work. The vase is 17 cm (6-1/2 inches) tall, 12 cm (4-3/4 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. There is no box.
Tsujimura Shiro was born in Nara in 1947, and began his steps into the art world as an oil painter in 1965. While living at a Buddhist temple he experienced a profound connection with a Korean Tea Bowl, and began potting...

A spectacular work by Tsujimura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box featuring a dark burn down one side, as if water has been pouring from the rim for centuries over the same place. The rough clay studded with inclusions and Shiseki is everything we have come to expect from this potter. The vase is 9 inches (23 cm) tall, 5 inches (12.5 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Tsujimura Shiro was born in Nara in 1947, and began his steps into the art world as an oil painter...

A superb Uzukumaru tsubo by Tsujimura Shiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Shell marks, kutsuki, ash blasting. The piece is 7-3/4 inches (19.5 cm) tall, 6 inches (15.5 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Tsujimura Shiro was born in Nara in 1947, and began his steps into the art world as an oil painter. While living at a Buddhist temple he experienced a profound connection with a Korean Tea Bowl, and began potting...

My Australian friend nailed it when he looked at this Tsujimura Shiro tsubo and emphatically declared: Bro that is crusty as….
Shiro is known for his lopsided forms and ash encrustation, and this vessel does not disappoint. It is 18 cm (7 inches) diameter, roughly the same height and in excellent condition, enclosed in the original signed wooden box.
Tsujimura Shiro was born in Nara in 1947, and began his steps into the art world as an oil painter in 1965...

This extraordinary mizusashi is a fine example of Oni Shino (carbon trap and natural ash glazing) that Tsukigata is so well-known for. Coining the term in the mid-50’s after countless failed experiments—which ultimately culminated in the discovery of this unique style of pottery—“Oni” translates roughly to demon or ogre...

This extraordinary mizusashi is a fine example of Oni Shino (carbon trap and natural ash glazing) that Tsukigata is so well-known for. Coining the term in the mid-50’s after countless failed experiments—which ultimately culminated in the discovery of this unique style of pottery—“Oni” translates roughly to demon or ogre...

One of the best I have ever seen by him. A metallic Shino Chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oni Shino Yohen O-Chawan and named inside Rokugo (also read Rikugo) which is something to do with the ancient concept of the tertiary levels of heaven and earth. Rokugo is outside the Human realm, the universe, the heavens...

A fulling block form draped with ochre glaze over charred olive shades by Tsukigata Nahiko wrapped in a brocade bag and enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oni Shino Hana-Ike which is in turn enclosed in a black lacquered wooden double-wood storage box. It is a very traditional shape in Japanese pottery. This is 8 inches (20 cm) tall, 5 inches (12 cm) diameter and in excellent condition. A superlative example of this artists work...

A beautiful example of Oni Shino by world famous Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in a wooden box signed by his student Ayukai Kogetsu. Wild glazing and a shinshoku fissure filled with glaze on one side define the work, showing reason for this artists great demand. Signed on the base it is 10 inches (25 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006) was not only an accomplished ceramic artist, but also a painter, calligrapher, sculptor and musician...

A double gourd shaped covered water jar by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oni-Shino Mizusashi and inside named Robai-ju (Robai is a type of early blossoming plum, Ju is ball). It is just under 7 inches (17.5 cm) diameter, 6 inches (15 cm) tall and in excellent condition.
Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006) was not only an accomplished ceramic artist, but also a painter, calligrapher, sculptor and musician...

A deep black glazed bowl perfect for winter tea by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in a wooden box annotated by his student and titled Seto Guro Chawan. The subtleties difficult to discern, there are two distinct colors of black, with shiny, and one matte...

Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927)
Ships in Harbor
Date: 1900 or earlier.
Size: Shikishiban. 9.75 x 9.25 inches.
Publisher: Matsuki Heikichi (Daikokuya).
Signed.
Edition: First/early.
Provenance: Purchased from family who acquired in Japan on a 1900 world tour.
Woodblock print is adhered to board.
Condition: Edge toning. Minor marks.

Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927)
Quails and Full Moon
Date: 1900 or earlier.
Size: Shikishiban. 9.75 x 9.25 inches.
Publisher: Matsuki Heikichi (Daikokuya).
Sealed.
Edition: First/early.
Provenance: Purchased from family who acquired in Japan on a 1900 world tour.
Woodblock print is adhered to board.
Condition: Edge toning. Minor marks.

This is his Tsutsugaki item, which is impressive with its very surreal pine and bamboo designs drawn in Tsutsugaki during the Edo period. The young pine tree in the center of the picture is drawn in an unbelievably large and surreal manner, and the bamboo, which is also impossibly deformed, is drawn in the background. This is quite an unconventional item among the indigo-dyed items of the Edo period. There are three areas that have been repaired, but the discoloration is slight and not noticeabl...

A medium sized ido-gata (well shaped) tea bowl with exceptionally fine and beautifully crafted kintsugi gold repairs. One side of the bowl features a thickly applied ferrous glaze that pools generously near the base, while the pale green ashen glaze on the outside is decorated with impressed textured patterns. Very firmly grounded, the kodai (foot) shows the reddish clay that the piece is fashioned from and the potters seals on the base appear to read “sho” (star) “zen” (having the natur...