Ibe Tokkuri

This is an Ibe-style sake bottle by the master craftsman Mitsuru Isezaki, who loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to Bizen. It features the turnip-shaped design that Mitsuru frequently created, possessing a wonderful, rustic, and approachable atmosphere. The beautiful quality of the clay seems to respond to Mitsuru’s dedication to the material. The rich, purple-hued surface has evolved even further in beauty thanks to the flashes of gold, and the clay texture around the waist is soothing just to look at. Signed wooden box (shiho-zan) included.
Rim diameter 4.0cm × Body diameter 9.6cm × Height 12.8cm; Capacity 380cc Born in 1934 as the eldest son of Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, Mitsuru Isezaki learned pottery techniques from his father from an early age and went on to major in sculpture at Okayama University. A true master of tea ceramics, he pursued Momoyama-style forms, clay texture, and firing techniques. He distinguished between the use of climbing kilns and medieval-style tunnel kilns depending on the piece, strictly using pine wood for firing and avoiding electric or gas kilns. He became a regular member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Kaneshige Toyo Award in 1974. In 1994, he received the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Merit Award, and in 1998, the 15th Tanabe Museum Grand Prize. In March of that same year, he was designated as a holder of an Okayama Prefecture Important Intangible Cultural Property. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 77.
Awards: Kaneshige Toyo Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Merit Award, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition, and many others / Prefectural Exhibition Guest Artist