262. FUJIMOTO Hide , 1954- , Shigaraki-ware collapsed pot

262.   FUJIMOTO Hide  藤本 秀,  1954- , Shigaraki kuzureta tsubo 信楽崩壺  (Shigaraki-ware collapsed pot)

For Fujimoto, see item no. 250. 

Light gray clay, with addition of many small white pebbles (quartz or feldspar). This was fired unglazed. The surface decoration results from kiln effects—ash deposits, natural ash glazing, hi-iro (fire colors), and vitrification, with patches and drops of bidoro green glass-like glazing. Weight: 2.2 kg (4.9 lb). Height: 13.8 cm (5-1/2 in). Widths: rim, 12 cm (4-3/4 in); widest, 22.5 cm (8-3/4 in); base, 14.8 cm (5-7/8 in). 

This sits on a flat base. The remnants of the five posts used to separate the piece from the kiln shelf during firing are visible on the base. The base is scored with many striations and much pitted. From the base the walls rise in a convex arc to the widest point, 7.6 cm (3 in) above the base. The piece collapsed above this point, more on one side (arbitrarily the front side), causing the mouth to sag downward on this side. The back side didn’t sag as much. It appears that this was to be a wide, relatively low jug. On the back side, there is an irregular hole surround by the remnants of a circular structure. To one side of this is another remnant, which appears to be a broken off protrusion of some sort. These may perhaps be remnants of a spout or a handle of some sort.  The mouth is wide and surrounded by a beveled rim. The surface of the pot is rough and broken. In one place on the back part, the surface fell off after firing, leaving the clay body exposed. 

This was fired unglazed. The back side has a dark gray ash deposit between the two remnants mention in the preceding paragraph. The upper part of the pot is covered with natural ash glazing, vitrified in places and with some bidoro green glass-like patches and a few tambo no me (green glass-like teardrops) running down the side. The lower half exhibits hi-iro in colors ranging from light red to mahogany. There are patches of vitrified cream-colored natural ash glazing on the base near the outside edge; most of the base has hi-iro colors in light red. 

This came in a wooden box, inscribed by the artist in three lines: 信楽 / 崩壺 / 藤本 秀  Shigaraki  / kuzureta tsubo / Fujimoto Hide (Shigaraki[-ware] / collapsed jug / Fujimoto Hide), with the artist’s seal stamped in red. Included in the box were a business card (meishi) and a short printed biography. 

The seller told me that the pot collapsed during firing and that Fujimoto viewed it as work of art resulting from a collaboration between nature and ceramics. The result is appealing and intriguing, and it’s understandable that Fujimoto would preserve this rather than toss it on the scrap heap. Sometimes the unexpected happens when pots are fired, and the accidents can be serendipitous. 

Purchased from the Kura Monzen Gallery in Kyoto in September 2024, who received it directly from the potter in summer 2024. This was part of an exhibit entitled Shōka 昇華  (“sublime”), or Modern Masters in English, a show of fifteen currently active potters (invoice and shipping and customs documents).

 

261. FUJIMOTO Hide, 1954- , Shigaraki-ware “crouching” vase

 261. FUJIMOTO Hide  藤本 秀,  1954- , Shigaraki uzukumaru [tsubo] 信楽蹲[壺]  (Shigaraki-ware “crouching” vase)

For Fujimoto, see item no. 250. 

The designation of this as a tsubo follows the usage for similar uzukumaru pots. For another example, see item no. 218, 

To judge from other examples of uzukumaru pots online, the term is reserved for a style of pots made in Shigaraki. They are roughly circular in cross-section. From a broad, flat base, the walls rise outwards in a more or less straight line to the widest diameter at the high shoulders. From there, the walls curve inward rapidly to a small, short vertical neck surmounted by jutting horizontal lips with beveled edges. 

Light gray clay. Fired unglazed, with heavy kiln effects--ash deposits in deep black, hi-iro (fire colors) in light red, melted ash glaze in a creamy brown, with some vitrification and bidoro green glass-like deposits and drips. Weight: 1.9 kg (4.3 lb). Height: 19 cm (7-1/2 in). Widths: rim, 8.2 cm (3-1/4 in); widest, 16.4 cm (6-1/2 in); base, 12 cm (4-3/4 in). 

This sits on the flat circular base. The remnants of the four posts used to separate the piece from the kiln shelf during firing are visible on the base. The body is roughly circular but with many shallow dents and bulges. The widest point occurs at the shoulders, 11.3 cm (4-1/2 in) above the base. The walls then curve inward to the neck, which is 16 cm (6-3/8 in) above the base and 5.7 cm (2-1/4 in) in diameter. The lip juts outward above the neck, Both the lower and the upper surfaces are beveled. Two lines scratched into the clay undulate around the vase, one positioned slightly below the shoulders and one above. The lines range from 2.5 to 5 cm (1-2 in) apart. A series of X’s was inscribed within these lines. Some of the lines in the X’s rise above the upper line. The interior of the piece mirrors the exterior. The surface is rough and crusted. 

This was fired unglazed. One side (arbitrarily the back side) was covered with a heavy layer of ash, leaving a dark matte black surface, much pitted and very irregular. This layer is so thick that it largely obscures the undulating lines and X’s in this area. The portions of the exterior walls beside the neck on this side show some reddish-brown hi-iro. The front side, particularly the upper portions, were covered with a natural ash glazing, which ran down the front side to the base, leaving some portions uncovered and again showing hi-iro colors. The neck, rim, and mouth of the piece are also covered with natural ash glazing in the creamy brown color. Some areas of the natural ash glazing shows vitrification. Unusually the base is also encrusted with ash deposits and has one tambo no me bead of green glass-like melted ash glazing. This must have been fired near the front of the kiln and received a full blast of ash deposits and heat. 

This came in a wooden box inscribed by Fujimoto in three lines: 信楽 / 蹲 /藤本 秀 Shigaraki / uzukumaru / Fujimoto Hide (Shigaraki / crouching / Fujimoto Hide), followed by the artist’s seal stamped in red. Included in the box was a short printed biography of the artist. 

I found a picture of a Muromachi-period Shigaraki "crouching" tsubo that has a similar decorative scheme of two lines running around the shoulders with a pattern of X's inscribed between them. The decoration on that piece is more regular, however, and the kiln effects are much more limited (chiefly hi-iro with some golden fly ash). See Samuel J. Lurie and Beatrice L. Chang, Fired With Passion: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics (2006), p. 110, fig. 82. 

Purchased from the Kura Monzen Gallery in Kyoto in September 2024, who received it directly from the potter in summer 2024. This was part of an exhibit entitled Shōka 昇華  (“sublime”), or Modern Masters in English, a show of fifteen currently active potters (invoice and shipping and customs documents).

 

260. ŌIWA Tomoyuki, 1977- . black [Bizen-ware] sake-warming flask

260.  ŌIWA Tomoyuki 大岩智之. 1977- . Kuro tokkuri  黒徳利   (black [Bizen-ware] sake-warming flask)

 

For Ōiwa, see item no. 259. 

Dark gray clay. Fired unglazed, with natural ash glazing resulting in shiny black and matte black and dun colors. Weight: 426g (15 oz). Height: 13.8 cm (5-1/2 in).  Widths: rim, 3.5 cm (1-3/8 in); widest, 8.8 cm (3-1/2 in); base, 6 cm (2-3/8 in). 

This is shaped like a bottle gourd (瓢箪 hyōtan). It appears to have been molded on a wheel and then subsequently carved to form the belt, shoulders, neck, and rim. The main part of the body was then flattened slightly, leaving the piece longer from side to side. The maximum distance front to back is 8.2 cm, or about a quarter inch less the side-to-side dimension. 

The piece sits on the rim of the circular base, which was hollowed out in a shallow concavity. The remains of the three posts used to separate the piece from the kiln shelf during firing are visible on the bottom. The artist’s mark, a vertical line with a crossbar and a dot at the top right corner, is incised into the center of the base. The belt or waist begins about 5 cm (2 in) above the base and is one centimeter (3/8 in) wide. It consists of two horizontal grooves encircling the piece; the area between the two grooves was flattened with a carving tool. The lower bulge is a convex curve about 5 cm (2 in) in height, with the maximum width of 8.8 cm occurring 3.3 cm (1-1/4 in) above the base. The upper bulge is again a convex curve, with the maximum width of 7.5 cm (3 in) occurring 7 cm (2-3/4 in) above the base. Thus the widest area of both bulges is nearer the waist than the base or shoulders, respectively, of the piece. The shoulders begin 10.2 cm (4-1/8 in) above the base. The shoulder area is level, sloping slightly upwards toward the neck. At the neck’s lowest point, it is 2.5 cm (1 in) wide. The neck widens gradually up to the rim, which juts outward at a 90-degree angle and then slants slightly outward to the upper edge. The inside of the rim curves downward to the recessed mouth. It is impossible to see inside the piece. The surface of the exterior ranges from smooth over the heavily vitrified areas to a medium sandpaper grade on the relatively unglazed areas. 

This was fired unglazed. Some two-thirds of the exterior surface is covered with a vitrified ash glaze, with a dark black color. The base and some lower edges of the walls are a matte black color. Those portions of the exterior walls not covered with the vitrified ash glazing are a matte dun color.

 This came in a wooden box inscribed by Ōiwa in three lines: 黒 / 徳利 / sigil  kuro / tokkuri / sigil (black sake warmer-pourer / sigil), followed by the artist's seal stamped in red. See item no. 259 on the sigil. Included in the box were a gray wrapping cloth and a small card with a potted biography of the artist.  

This was sold as a unit with item no. 259, but the two pieces were not conceived as a set.  An online search found other similarly shaped tokkuri by Ōiwa. 

The irregularity of the main part of the body contrasts with the symmetry and precision of the pouring spout. The difference sets up a dialogue between the two parts. 

Purchased from the Kura Monzen Gallery in Kyoto in September 2024, who purchased it directly from the potter in June 2023 (invoice and shipping and customs documents).

259. ŌIWA Tomoyuki. 1977- . black Bizen-ware drinking cup

 259. ŌIWA Tomoyuki 大岩智之. 1977- . Kuro guinomi 黒ぐい呑   (black [Bizen-ware] drinking cup)

Ōiwa Tomoyuki was born in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, in 1977, and graduated from the Bizen Ceramic Center in 2004. The following year he became a student of the outsider Kakurezaki Ryūichi 隠崎隆一, with whom he would remain for eight years before going independent. In 2014 he built a half-submerged tunnel kiln (anagama), completing his first firing in 2015. He has since been featured widely and is known for his sake vessels. 

Glazed in dun brown and black. Weight: 158 g (5.6 oz). Height: 5.4 cm (2-1/8 in). Widths: mouth, 5.4 cm (2-1/8 in), widest, 6 cm (2-5/8 in); base, 5 cm (2 in). 

Any given horizontal cross-section of  this is roughly circular. The cup sits on a flat irregular foot ring. Before trimming, the base was probably completely flat. The inside of the base has been gouged out in a rough yin-ying pattern. The foot ring is level, and the cup rests stably on it. This came with a small white sticker with the number 11 on it attached to the base. Above the base the walls rise outward at about a 45-degree angle, to the widest point of the piece, about a centimeter (3/8 in) above the base. From the widest point to the mouth, the walls gradually sloped inward. There are wide, shallow horizontal grooves encircling the cup in this section. The mouth is generally even but has two small dips in it. There are tiny remnants of the three posts used to hold the piece away from the kiln shelves on the black side of the piece. The interior generally mirrors the exterior. The surface of the piece is smooth throughout and has the slight stickiness of a glazed work. 

The bottom, most of the interior, and half of the wall area were glazed in black. The other half of the walls and the lips of the mouth were glazed in a dun brown, which was allowed to drip into the black area of the walls along the horizontal grooves. Where the brown glaze thins out over the black glaze, it turned a light blue color. 

This came in a wooden box, inscribed by the artist in three lines: 黒 /ぐい呑 / sigil (black / small drinking cup //sigil), followed by the artist’s seal stampeed in red. Ōiwa’s sigil is indecipherable but appears to be the characters in his surname. Included in the box were a gray wrapping cloth and a small printed card with the artist’s potted biography. 

Purchased from the Kura Monzen Gallery in Kyoto in September 2024, who purchased it directly from the potter in June 2023 (invoice and shipping documents).