Bizen Hidasuki Turnip-Shaped Sake Bottle

This is the first new tokkuri (sake flask) in three years by the prodigious talent Harada Shiroku, who was hailed as "frighteningly gifted" while studying Old Bizen alongside the great Bizen scholar, Professor Katsura Matasaburo. Despite its plump and charming form, one can sense the delicate flow of the clay achieved through the coil-building technique; the harmony between the handcrafted feel around the neck and the refined clay movement is truly magnificent. The moist, Old Bizen-style surface is accented by reddish hidasuki (fire-cord) markings, creating a wonderfully weathered landscape. It is a delightfully austere piece that mirrors the presence of Old Bizen, not just in its color and form, but in its very essence. (*Please note that the title of the work may be subject to change.) Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Rim 4.0cm x Body diameter 10.3cm x Body diameter 10.0cm x Height 11.0cm; Capacity approx. 320cc After graduating from Meiji University and working in the corporate sector, Harada Shiroku began his pottery career in 1969. He built an ana-gama kiln in 1971 and a climbing kiln the following year, committing himself fully to his craft. Starting in 1975, under the guidance of Old Bizen researcher Matasaburo Katsura, he visited ancient kiln sites to study Old Bizen pottery. In 1991, he built an ana-gama kiln in Amidayama, Ushimado. He creates jars, tea ceremony utensils, and leaf-shaped plates using the coil-building technique, occasionally incorporating the potter's wheel. He has actively held solo exhibitions in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. In 1983, he held a two-person exhibition at the National Museum of Ethnology in Australia with Kenji Funaki of Fushina ware. He received the Japan Ceramic Society Award in 2000. In 2002, his work was exhibited and acquired for the opening commemorative exhibition of the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu. In 2005, his work was acquired by the New Orleans Museum of Art in the United States.