232. FURUTANI Hiromu, 1922­-2012, Shigaraki-ware water container for the tea ceremony

 232. FURUTANI Hiromu 古谷弘, Chūroku 忠六 I, 1922­-2012, Shigaraki shizenyū mentoru mizusashi 信楽自然釉面取水指  (Shigaraki-ware natural ash-glazed, faceted water container for the tea ceremony)

As evident in this piece, Furutani Hiromu was fascinated by the possibilities of koge 焦 (charring), hi-iro 火色  (flame color), and other kiln effects of Shigaraki-ware. He devoted himself to the recovery of pre-Edo firing techniques. He was on the forefront of research into ancient kiln construction and re-created both an anagama and a noborigama (climbing kiln). He was the first artist named a Dentō Kōgeishi (traditional craftsman) in Shigaraki, accepting that honor in 1976. After that his works were exhibited throughout Japan, as well as internationally. Breaking from tradition however, he also worked to create carved and modeled pieces with animated creatures writhing across the surfaces or arching to form handles. Furutani Hiromu was the father of Furutani Hirofumi 博文 (Chūroku  忠六 II) and grandfather of Furutani Taketoshi (see items nos. 218 and 224), all potters in the Shigaraki tradition. 

Light gray clay, unglazed before firing, with kiln effects in the gray and red ranges. Weight: 3.45 kg (7.7 lb). Height: overall, 22 cm (8-3/4 in); lid, 4.2 cm (1-5/8 in); bottom section, 19.3 cm (7-5/8 in). Width: lid, 11.7 cm (4-5/8 in); mouth, 16.8 cm (4-1/4 in), rim, 14.5 cm (5-3/4 in), base (maximum), 18.4 cm (7-1/4 in). 

This sits on the flat base. Remnants of the wads used during the firing to separate the piece from the kiln shelf are evident on the bottom. The characters 忠六 in a cursive script were incised into the base. The white sticker with the number 58 is from the exhibition of the works of the three Furutani generations at the Kura Monzen Gallery in Kyoto in 2023. Measurement of the depth of the interior reveals that the base is 2 cm (3/4 in) thick. The edges of the base follow the contours of the faceted walls. 

The walls were shaped by the mentoru process up to a height of 14.5 cm (5-3/4 in), where a narrow ridge of clay, hereafter the “collar,” circles the piece. Mentoru is usually translated “faceted,” but the English word seems too adjectival to me. The Japanese word is a verbal compound and implies a process of forming a face by removing or taking something away. This section has eight facets extending from the collar down to the base formed by slicing away the clay. Each section is slightly concave toward the center. The borders between the facets are sharp, bumpy ridges. The bottom of each facet between these vertical borders has been curved upward to form a curved indent, creating a series of scallops between sharp points beneath the ridges. Each facet has a series of closely spaced, shallow vertical grooves running from the collar to the scallops, perhaps made by a metal comb. The scallops were formed after these grooves were made and cover the grooves near the base. The grooves are most apparent on the side with almost no ash deposits (arbitrarily, the “back side”). The heavy ash deposits on the front side mostly obscures the grooves. Furutani dug deeper and larger grooves in an “M” pattern across the front facets. 

There are two “handles” vertically centered on the collar, on opposite sides of the piece, roughly between the front and back sides. The handles are more bumps with which one can grasp the piece rather than handles proper. They are rough wads of clay. The one on the left appears to have been damaged after the firing; it is hollow and the rough unglazed clay is exposed.

Above the collar, there is an indented section, and above this a section with horizontal grooves and rings that juts out a bit. Each of these sections occupies roughly half of the space between the collar and the rim. The lip has groove running around the circumference. The gallery on which the lid sits is recessed about 1.3 cm (1/2 in) below the lip. 

The lid has a central knob, which appears to have been shaped from a flattish piece of clay formed into a rough, open cylinder, with the top edges folded inward around an irregular opening. The top side of the lid is fairly flat, with concentric circular grooves radiating from the center. The underside of the lid is slightly convex toward the center. The lid doesn’t sit very securely on the gallery. 

The interior of the piece is an irregular cylinder, with some finger marks from the shaping. 

The surface of the piece is very rough and broken. 

What is visible of the clay body reveals that Furutani used a fine-grained clay for this. This was unglazed before firing. The front side and the top side of the lid acquired a thick layer of ash during the firing, resulting in a heavy deposit of vitrified gray glaze with some green bidoro on the grooves of the lid, the underside of the lid near the edges, and the bottom edges of the M across the front. The other side of the body became a coral red as a result of the firing; the back side also has droplets of vitrified glaze in a cream color strewn randomly over the surface. Some portions of the base and the underside of the lid and most of the interior show the unaltered clay; the interior exhibits some pink coloring on the walls and some natural ash glazing on the bottom.

This came in a wooden box, with an orange wrapping cloth and a potted biography of the artist. The lid of the box was inscribed by Furutani Taketoshi, in four lines, from right to left: 信楽 Shigaraki  /  自然釉  shizenyū (natural ash glaze) /  面取水指 mentoru mizusashi (faceted water container) / 初代 shodai (first generation) 忠六  Chūroku, followed by the artist’s seal in red (again reading 忠六  Chūroku).  The seller also included a copy of the exhibition booklet.

The results imply that Furutani sited this piece very carefully in the kiln so that the kiln effects resulted in well-delineated front and back sides.

Purchased from the Kura Monzen Gallery, Kyoto, Japan, September 2023. (Invoice, shipping and customs documents)