Bizen Taiko-ishi Sake Cup

This is a Bizen Taiko-ishi sake cup by the prodigious talent Harada Shuroku, who studied ancient Bizen alongside the great Bizen scholar Katsura Matasaburo, who famously called him a "frighteningly gifted" artist. Featuring a piece of granite known as "Taiko-ishi" (Taiko stone) prominently on the front, this piece possesses a dignity worthy of the Taiko name. In contrast to its rugged construction, the firing is somewhat mellow, characterized by soft gray *kase-goma* (dry sesame ash glaze) and a moist, scarlet clay texture. The balance between the coarse, ragged clay around the waist and the powerful *tsuke-kodai* (applied foot) is intriguing. Signed wooden box (shiho-san)
Diameter 8.2cm x Diameter 7.6cm x Height 6.7cm After graduating from Meiji University and working in a corporate position, Harada Shuroku began creating ceramics in 1969. In 1971, he built an ana-gama (tunnel kiln) and a climbing kiln the following year, devoting himself fully to pottery. Starting in 1975, he conducted research on ancient Bizen kilns under the guidance of ancient Bizen expert Katsura Matasaburo. In 1991, he built an ana-gama on Mt. Amida in Ushimado. He creates jars, tea ceremony utensils, and leaf-shaped dishes, primarily using the coil-building technique, occasionally incorporating the potter's wheel. He has held active solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka, and elsewhere. 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.