Inbe Hitokoe Hanaire

Mountain Rental This is an Ibe-Issei flower vase by the master craftsman Mitsuru Isezaki, who loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to Bizen. Named "Issei" (one voice), this piece is slightly larger than a standard crane-neck vase, resulting in a work with a distinguished presence. While it features a simple composition of sesame glaze and clay texture, the careful firing has produced a high-grade appearance; the clay texture, with its shifting shades of gold and perilla-purple, conveys the genuine dedication of an Ibe potter. Though it contains a variety of colors, it maintains a refined, withered presence, crafted with the goal of enhancing flowers and harmonizing with its surroundings. (Please note that the paulownia box is slightly sun-faded, but there are almost no signs of use on the vase itself.) Signed wooden box (shōhozan construction)
Diameter 12.9cm x Diameter 12.9cm x Height 22.9cm Mitsuru Isezaki was born in 1934 as the eldest son of the Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki. He learned pottery techniques from his father from a young age and majored in sculpture at the Okayama University Special Art Course. As a master of traditional tea ceramics, he pursued Momoyama-style forms, clay qualities, and firing techniques. He distinguished between using a climbing kiln and a medieval anagama kiln depending on the work, and insisted on firing with split pine wood, never using electric or gas kilns. He became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Toyo Kaneshige Prize in 1974. In 1994, he received the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Contribution Award, and in 1998, the 15th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize. In March of the same year, he was designated as a holder of a Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 77.
Awards: Toyo Kaneshige Prize, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Contribution Award, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition, and many others / Prefectural Exhibition Guest Artist