Bizen Great Drinker

This is a new Bizen ware large sake cup by Kosuke Kaneshige, the leader of the Kaneshige school and son of the great restorer of Bizen ware and Living National Treasure, Toyo Kaneshige. As a "large sake cup," it is sized between a tea cup and a standard sake cup, making it perfect for shochu or sake, while also serving as an elegant, compact tea cup. The Bizen clay body has excellent heat retention properties; when filled with warm tea, the piece itself warms up, and combined with the profound kiln-transmutation effects typical of the Kaneshige style, it promises a moment of supreme relaxation. The piece features a well-fired, bright brown surface with yellow sesame glaze (kigoma), while the interior reveals vibrant scarlet cord markings (hidaski), showcasing the rustic and gentle aesthetic inherited from Toyo Kaneshige. Signed wooden box (shiho-san) included
Diameter 7.4cm x Diameter 7.4cm x Height 8.0cm Kosuke Kaneshige is the third son of Living National Treasure Toyo Kaneshige. He graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts with a degree in sculpture in 1968 and completed his master's degree in sculpture at the same university in 1970. He began presenting his ceramic works in 1975, and after serving as a lecturer at Tokai University, he returned home in 1977. He built his climbing kiln in 1982. He creates objects, tea utensils, flower vases, tableware, and sake vessels. In 1991, he created the ceramic mural "Light and Wind" for the Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Building in Okayama. He received the Japan Ceramic Society Award in 1994 and exhibited at the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition in 1997. He has held solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka, and other locations. In 2012, he was designated as a Holder of Okayama Prefecture Important Intangible Cultural Property.