Bizen Great Drinker

This is a new Bizen ware large sake cup by Kosuke Kaneshige, the leader of the Kaneshige family 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 teacup and a standard sake cup, making it perfect for shochu or sake, while also serving as an elegant and modestly sized teacup. Bizen ware has excellent heat retention properties; when filled with warm tea, the vessel itself warms up, providing a moment of supreme relaxation heightened by the profound beauty of Kaneshige’s kiln-transformed glaze. The well-fired, light brown surface features yellow *goma* (ash glaze) speckles, and the interior displays vibrant *hidasuki* (fire-cord) markings, capturing the rustic, gentle aesthetic inherited from his father, Toyo Kaneshige. Signed wooden box (shiho-zan) included.
Diameter 7.4cm × Diameter 7.3cm × Height 8.3cm Kosuke Kaneshige is the third son of Living National Treasure Toyo Kaneshige. He graduated from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1968 and completed his graduate studies there in 1970. He began presenting ceramic works in 1975, and after serving as a lecturer in the School of Letters at Tokai University, he returned to his hometown in 1977. He built his climbing kiln in 1982. He produces objects, tea utensils, 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. In 1997, his work was exhibited at the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition, and he has held numerous solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka, and elsewhere. In 2012, he was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property Holder by Okayama Prefecture.