Catalog (105)

A very unusual dish in the shape of a wide grape leaf with a cluster of celadon grapes growing off an iron red vine by Miyagawa (Makuzu) Kozan enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) across in both directions, 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
The name Kozan was granted by Prince Yasui-no-Miya in 1851 in honor of the tea ware produced during the later Edo for the imperial Court by the tenth-generation head of the Kyoto pottery family Miyagawa Chozo. The Kozan (Makuzu) kiln as we know it today was established in Yokohama in 1871 by the 11th generation head of the family where he reinvented the family business. He immediately set out on a journey which would propel the Kozan name to International Celebrity status, and send his wares throughout the globe. Pieces produced there were marked Kozan, or Makuzu, the official kiln name, or both. Although he had been running the daily operation since the late 19th century, the first son, Hanzan, succeeded as head of the kiln, in 1912, with the father officially retiring to spend more time on his own research and art. Kozan I dies in 1916. The kiln was run by Hanzan (1859-1940) through the early Showa era, he officially taking the name Kozan II in 1917, after one-year mourning for his father’s passing. Under Hanzan the kiln was commissioned for works to be presented to the Prince of Wales, the 25th wedding anniversary gift for the Taisho emperor and the Showa Emperors coronation gift. The unlucky third generation inherited the kiln at the height of the war years, it was completely destroyed in the bombing of Yokohama in 1945. For more on this illustrious family see Bridging East and West, Japanese Ceramics from the Kozan Studio by Kathleen Emerson-Dell.

A set of 5 dishes in the shape of Tai (sea bream), a fish whose name is synonymous with celebration, dating from the fist half of the 20th century and enclosed in the original wooden box signed Ryokufu-gama. Each dish is 8.5 x 13.5 x 2.5 cm (3-1/2 x 5-1/2 x 1 inch) and all are in excellent condition.
Sea bream is not just a culinary ingredient but also a cultural symbol in Japan, embodying elegance, celebration, and respect for tradition. Sea bream is considered a premium fish, often reserved for special meals or high-end dining experiences. The fish's appearance, with its vibrant red color and elegant shape, makes it visually appealing and suitable for festive presentations. Historically, it was regarded as a fish for the nobility and samurai class. The word "tai" is associated with "medetai" which means auspicious or celebratory. Because of this, sea bream is often served at festive occasions like weddings, New Year celebrations, and other milestones.

A bun-shaped incense case by Teishitsu Gigei-in Suwa Sozan I enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Seiji Kogo decorated with a mythical Kirin. It is 6 cm (2-1/23 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. The box bears the Imperial artist seal.
Suwa Sozan I (1852-1922) was born in Kutani country, present day Ishikawa prefecture, where he initially studied before moving to Tokyo in 1875. Over the next 25 years he would gravitate between Tokyo and Kanazawa, working at various kilns and research facilities. He again relocated, this time to Kyoto in 1900 to manage the Kinkozan Studio before establishing his own. His name became synonymous with celadon and refined porcelain and was one of only five potters to be named Teishitsu Gigei-in. The Teishitsu Gigei-in were members of the Imperial Art Academy, Perhaps in modern terms one might call them the predecessors to the Living National Treasures. However unlike the LNT, there were only five Pottery artists ever named Teishitsu Gigei-in, Ito Tozan, Suwa Sozan, Itaya Hazan, Miyagawa Kozan, and Seifu Yohei III. He was succeeded by his adopted daughter upon his death. He is held in the Kyoto National Museum among many others.

A classic early Tanabe Chikuunsai basket enclosed in the original signed wooden box signed with his early name. That this is signed Shochikusai indicates it was created before he took the family name in 1937. This square form of open vertical slats is a favorite of this artist. The basket is 10 x 17 x 33.5 cm (4 x 6-1/2 x 13 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910-2000) was born in Osaka the son of Tanabe Chikuunsai I and trained under his father. In 1930 he became a member of the Naniwa Ranyukai and exhibited was first accepted into the Teiten (Modern Nitten) National Art Exhibition in 1931, and exhibited there both prior to and following the second world war. He assumed the name of Chikuunsai II on the death of his father in 1937. In 1991 he transferred his studio name to his eldest son, who became Chikuunsai III and took the retirement name Ichikusai. Work by him is held in museums throughout the world including the Metropolitan Museum in New York, Museum of Fine Art in Boston, San Francisco Asian Art Museum and aforementioned Minneapolis among many others.

A wooden tray carved in the shape of a lotus leaf which seems to be almost as thin as the real thing, and amazing feat for the artist. It is 31 x 30 x 1 cm (roughly 12 inches diameter) and in excellent condition dating from the early 20th century and enclosed in a period wooden storage box titled Hasunoha-gata Kashibon.

A pair of very cool Tokkuri sake flasks with looping handles decorated in barber-pole fashion with a striking design of spiraling red on pale cream glaze. Each is signed on the base Seizan, and they come enclosed in a period wooden box titled Seizan-yaki Sake Tsubo. Each is roughly 5;.5 cm (2 inches) diameter, 12 cm (5 inches ) tall and both are in excellent condition.

Floral sprays in vivid color decorate this set of Tokkuri sake flasks by Kanzan Denshichi enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Each is 5.5 cm (2 inches) diameter, 16 cm 6-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Kanzan Denshichi (1821-1890) was born in the ceramic-producing area of Seto. He worked at the Koto kiln of the Ii family in the Hikone domain, moving to Kyoto when the kiln closed in 1862. In Kyoto, he established his workshop at the base of Kiyomizu-zaka where he worked under the name Terao Denshichi and is thought to have been one of the first ceramicists in Kyoto to specialize specifically in porcelain. In the first year of the Meiji era (1868) he worked to supply the Kyoto Prefectural Office, following which he studied Western painting and pottery decoration under Gottfried Wagner. In the following three years, production was renamed Shountei and he worked under the name Kato Kanzan. Kanzan’s works include porcelain tableware, both Western and Japanese in style, often decorated with brightly colored polychrome and gold. Some of these wares were made for export, and Kanzan also exhibited at international exhibitions, securing a gold medal at Paris in 1878 In 1881 during their visit to Japan, Queen Victoria’s grandsons: Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and Prince George, Duke of York (George V), visited Kanzan’s workshop in Kyoto. The Imperial Household Ministry purchased Kanzan’s works, including some tableware for use in the Enriokan and other items in the style of the underglaze blue decorated Edo-period imperial porcelains known as kinri goyōtōki.
Pieces by Kanzan may be found in the collections of the Sannomaru Shōzōkan (Museum of the Imperial Collections) and Imperial Banqueting Department of Japan’s Imperial Household Agency, Tokyo National Museum and Kyoto Prefectural Library and Archives. The Victoria and Albert Museum has a pair of vases displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, a pair of ginger jars and four other small pieces. In 2014, the Sannomaru Shōzōkan devoted an exhibition to a Japanese-style polychrome dinner service made by Kanzan’s workshop for Prince Arisugawa Takehito: Beautiful Modern Kyoyaki (Kyoto-style ware) – Fine works by Kanzan Denshichi passed down within the Prince Arisugawa Family, 21 March – 22 June 2014.

An exemplary Bizen Tsubo typifying the late Momoyama style in rough dark clay with smoothed finger grooves spiraling up the body, and a smattering of flying ash typical of the 16th century with a kiln mark (kamajirushi) in the shape of a cross at the base opposite a hash mark. Occasional Shiseki and Ishihaze break the surface, testament to the less refined ‘yamadzuchi’ mountain clay which was used. The base is baked to a stone-like texture and sheen. This is a perfect example of the pottery produced in Bizen during the Momoyama period. It is 24 cm (9-1/2 inches) diameter, 28.5 cm (11-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Bizen is one of the Rokkoyo or six ancient kilns of Japan. It is considered by many to be the quintessential Japanese pottery. It was traditionally produced in and around the village of Imbe in Bizen province, from where it received its name. It is therefore also known as Imbe or Inbe ware. As we know it today it made its appearance during the Kamakura period of the 14th century. It experienced its first peak during the Momoyama period of the 16th to early 17th centuries when the unadorned aesthetic was found to blend well with the rustic confines of the tea room. It remained strong throughout the Edo period, but fell into decline after the Meiji restoration, and owes much thanks to Kaneshige Toyo for helping to revive it in the second quarter of the 20th century, a task for which he was granted the status of living National Treasure, and has enjoyed great popularity since.

A Rooster stands proudly in slight relief, his tail plumage draping down like a cape, on the lid of this celadon incense container by Suwa Sozan I enclosed in the original signed wooden box bearing the Teishitsu Gigei-in stamp. This would be the last Zodiac animal created by the artist, as he passed away the following year. It is 6 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. An example of this piece is published in the rare 1971 book Suwa Sozan Sakuhin Shu page 44.
Sozan I (1852-1922) was born in Kutani country, present day Ishikawa prefecture, where he initially studied before moving to Tokyo in 1875. Over the next 25 years he would gravitate between Tokyo and Kanazawa, working at various kilns and research facilities. He again relocated, this time to Kyoto in 1900 to manage the Kinkozan Studio before establishing his own. His name became synonymous with celadon and refined porcelain and was one of only five potters to be named Teishitsu Gigei-in. The Teishitsu Gigei-in were members of the Imperial Art Academy, Perhaps in modern terms one might call them the predecessors to the Living National Treasures. However unlike the LNT, there were only five Pottery artists ever named Teishitsu Gigei-in, Ito Tozan, Suwa Sozan, Itaya Hazan, Miyagawa Kozan, and Seifu Yohei III. He was succeeded by his adopted daughter upon his death. He is held in the Kyoto National Museum among many others.

A beautiful Shallow bowl with inverted rim decorated with delicate designs by Miyagawa Makuzu Kozan enclosed in the original signed wooden ox titled Ninsei Kameko Moyo Kashiki (Dish deocorated with Tortoise shell pattern). It is 19.5 cm (8 inches) diameter, 8.5 cm (3-1/2 inches) tall and in perfect condition.
The name Kozan was granted by Prince Yasui-no-Miya in 1851 in honor of the tea ware produced during the later Edo for the imperial Court by the tenth-generation head of the Kyoto pottery family Miyagawa Chozo. The Kozan (Makuzu) kiln as we know it today was established in Yokohama in 1871 by the 11th generation head of the family where he reinvented the family business. He immediately set out on a journey which would propel the Kozan name to International Celebrity status, and send his wares throughout the globe. Pieces produced there were marked Kozan, or Makuzu, the official kiln name, or both. Although he had been running the daily operation since the late 19th century, the first son, Hanzan, succeeded as head of the kiln, in 1912, with the father officially retiring to spend more time on his own research and art. Kozan I dies in 1916. The kiln was run by Hanzan (1859-1940) through the early Showa era, he officially taking the name Kozan II in 1917, after one-year mourning for his father’s passing. Under Hanzan the kiln was commissioned for works to be presented to the Prince of Wales, the 25th wedding anniversary gift for the Taisho emperor and the Showa Emperors coronation gift. The unlucky third generation inherited the kiln at the height of the war years, it was completely destroyed in the bombing of Yokohama in 1945. For more on this illustrious family see Bridging East and West, Japanese Ceramics from the Kozan Studio by Kathleen Emerson-Dell.

A boxed set of Binshi offering vases decorated with regal fowl enclosed in a period wooden box by Kiyomizu Rokubei. Each is roughly 12 cm 4-3/4 inches) tall and in perfect condition. Very difficult to tell with this signature, but I believe it is the work of the 4th Rokubei, possibly a very early work by the 5th.
Kiyomizu Rokubei IV (1848-1920) was born the first son of Rokubei III and headed the family kiln from 1883-1913.He studied painting in the Shijo manner under Shiiokawa Bunrin and had a brotherly relationship with his fellow student Kono Bairei (under whom his own son would study painting). He sought to revitalize the pottery tradition of Kyoto, bringing in new techniques and styles and together with artists like Asai Chu and Nakazawa Iwata took part in the Entoen group and with Kamisaka Sekka the Keitobi-kai. He also held a strong relationship with literati artists such as Tomioka Tessai and together with these artists produced many joint works. He fell ill in 1902, finally handing the reins over to the 5th generation in 1913.
Kiyomizu Rokubei V (Shimizu Kuritaro, 1875-1959) initially studied painting and decorating technique under Kono Bairei, one of the foremost painters in Japan in the Meiji era. After graduating the Kyoto Municipal Special School of Painting, he took a position under his father at the family kiln however. That same year he exhibited his first work at the National Industrial Exposition. He was a co-founder of Yutoen with his father and Asai Chu, and worked ceaselessly to promote the pottery of Kyoto. He helped to establish the Kyoto Ceramics Research Facility (Kyoto Tojiki Shikensho) at the turn of the century which would be the proving ground for many young artist of the era. Doctor Maekawa Shinya has noted that Teishitsu-Gigei-in (Imperial Art Academy Member) Seifu Yohei III also fired his acclaimed works in the Rokubei kiln in the Taisho era. Due to his father’s poor health Rokubei V took the reins unofficially in 1902, commanding the helm until assuming the name Rokubei V in 1913. It was in 1928 that Rokubei changed the reading of the family name from Shimizu to Kiyomizu and applied it retroactively to previous generations. He exhibited constantly, and garnered a great many awards. He worked to get crafts added to the National Art Exhibition (Bunten/Teiten) and served as a judge in 1927, the first year crafts were allowed. In 1937 he was designated a member of the Imperial Art Council (Teishitsu Bijutsu Inkai). Despite changes in the world around him Rokubei persevered, working in all manner of materials and styles. He retired in 1945, perhaps as exhausted as Japan was with the end of the war, or perhaps seeing that capitulation would signal a new era in need of new leaders and a new aesthetic. He passed the name Rokubei to his son and took the retirement name Rokuwa. Uncontainable he continued to create pottery under that name until his death in 1959. His influence is so pervasive he was voted one of the most important potters of the modern era by Honoho magazine, the preeminent quarterly devoted to Japanese pottery. A multitude of works by him are held in the The National Museums of Modern Art, both in Tokyo and Kyoto, the Kyoto Kyocera Museum, The Kyoto Hakubutsukan Museum and the Philadelphia Art Museum among others.

A Tsubo which slumped in the kiln adhering to a pair of sake cups, one of which remains clinging to the side. It appears to be Karatsu ware, green glaze sliding over rich red iron and forming beads around the foot ring. It is 23 x 17 x 22.5 cm (9 x 7 x 9 inches). There is a small chip in the rim but is otherwise in excellent conditiom.

A shishi lion bites into a tangle of ribbon on the pierced lid of this pottery koro by Ito Tozan enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The six sided bosy is decorated with alternating designs of gees and florals among lattice-work. It is 8.5 x 8.5 x 14.5㎝ and in excellent condition.
Ito Tozan I (1846-1920) began as a painter in the Maruyama school studying under Koizumi Togaku. In 1862 he became a pupil of Kameya Kyokutei, as well as studying under Takahashi Dohachi III and Kanzan Denshichi (who made the dishes for the imperial table). In 1867, with the fall of the Edo government, he opened his kiln in Eastern Kyoto. Much prized at home, he was also recognized abroad at the Amsterdam, Paris and Chicago World Expositions. With an emphasis on Awata and Asahi wares of Kyoto, he began to use the name Tozan around 1895. In 1917 he was named a member of the Imperial Art Academy, one of only five potters ever given that title, and like his teacher Denshichi, created the dishes from which the Imperial family would eat. He worked very closely with his adopted son, Ito Tozan II (1871-1937). He too began life as a painter, but his talent was seen by Tozan I, who adopted him and converted him to pottery, where he both succeeded and excelled as a member of one of Kyotos most well known pottery families.

A fantastic Meiji period tray used for serving sake featuring crows in a leafless tree under the full moon enclosed in an old wooden box signed Shunso. The tray is constructed of wood covered in a layer of cloth with dark red lacquer, the decoration fo crows in a tree performed in black under a moon of silver powder. It is 42.5 x42.5 x 4.5 cm and is in fine condition.

An oki-goro incense burner made up of a hollowed burl of wood set onto a beautiful exotic dark-wood stand in the manner much appreciated by scholars of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Incense burnt inside on a metal stand would have produced smoke which drifted out through holes in the high peak of the burl, and around the base, like a mountain visible in the mist. It is 17 x 10.5 x 9 cm (7 x 4 x 3-1/2 inches) and is in overall excellent condition.

A breathtaking tray decorated with early morning Lotus with misty clouds of gold on highly polished ro-iro black signed Kunisada featuring a solid silver rim enclosed in a silk lined box wrapped in blue cloth pouch stamped Ogaki Kunisada. Early morning dew beads like pearls in the basin of the dilapidated leaf in the fore, while the flower bulb, not ready yet to open, glistens gold in the late summer sunlight. The tray is 27.5 x 27.5 x 3cm (11 x 11 x 1-1/4 inches) and is in perfect condition. The wooden box has a paper label simply titled Ogaki Kunisada Haibon (Sake Cup Tray).

A pumpkin lobed vase with silver inlay by Naimen Shiho I (Katsuji) enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 19.5 cm (8 inches) diameter, 27 cm (11 inches) tall and in excellent condition. This is a great pair with the vase in the same form in simple Murashidao mottled olive tones by his son.
Naimen Shiho I (Katsuji, (1904-1987) studied metalwork under Ichioka Shiun from the age of 15 establishing his own workshop in 1925. His work was first publicly exhibited at the 1930 National Shokoten. Two years later he would be awarded at the Belgium World Exposition. He remained active throughout the troubled years of the mid-century for which he would receive the order of cultural merit from Takaoka City in 1967. Work by him is held in the Takaoka City Museum. He remained an active promoter of traditional bronze ware until his death in 1987. His son, the second generation Shiho would study under his father from 1957. He too is much lauded beginning with top prize at the 1974 Takaoka Traditional Craft Exhibition (-showa 62).

A paradigmatic basket by Tanabe Chikuunsai II enclosed in the orginal signed wooden box. This square form of open vertical slats is a favorite of this artist. It is 9 x 18 x 35 cm (3-1/2 x 7 x 14 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910-2000) was born in Osaka the son of Tanabe Chikuunsai I and trained under his father. In 1930 he became a member of the Naniwa Ranyukai and exhibited was first accepted into the Teiten (Modern Nitten) National Art Exhibition in 1931, and exhibited there both prior to and following the second world war. He assumed the name of Chikuunsai II on the death of his father in 1937. In 1991 he transferred his studio name to his eldest son, who became Chikuunsai III and took the retirement name Ichikusai. Work by him is held in museums throughout the world including the Metropolitan Museum in New York, Museum of Fine Art in Boston, San Francisco Asian Art Museum and aforementioned Minneapolis among many others.