Kuroshuten

This is a new black sake cup by Koichiro Isezaki, who was born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and has brought a breath of fresh air to the Bizen pottery world with his exceptional sense and skillful formative ability. It features a design with a narrower mouth and a rounder, more adorable shape than his usual carved sake cups. Looking into the narrowed mouth, the expansive black clay surface scattered with small pebbles and sprinkled with "tobigoma" (flung sesame ash glaze) like stardust creates a scene that feels as if you are gazing at the night sky through a telescope. The wine-red clay tone that softly stains the area around the shell mark is also truly wonderful. Signed wooden box (shiho-san)
Diameter 7.7cm x Diameter 7.3cm x Height 7.1cm Koichiro Isezaki was born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki. The Isezaki family is a prestigious house of Bizen pottery; his grandfather was Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, and his uncle was Intangible Cultural Property holder Mitsuru Isezaki. He has aspired to be a ceramic artist from an early age. After graduating from the Sculpture Department of Tokyo Zokei University in 1994, he studied abroad in the United States. He studied ceramics for about two years under Jeff Shapiro, a ceramic artist based in New York City, which greatly broadened his perspective on art and ceramics. After returning to Japan in 2000, he trained under the guidance of his father and his father's disciples. In 2002, he exhibited for the first time at the Tanabe Museum of Art's Tea Ceremony Exhibition, where his work was selected.