Bizen Shinogi Sake Cup

This is a Bizen shinogi (fluted) sake cup by the prodigious talent Juro Harada, who was described by the great Bizen authority Saburo Katsura—with whom he studied old Bizen—as having a "frighteningly bright future." It is crafted with a thick wall from which the clay has been carved away, leaving powerful, torn-like marks where the earth was stripped back. The fine, dry-textured kase-goma ash glaze has a slightly bluish tint, reflecting the characteristic intensity of Harada’s firing process. The contrast between the rich, shiso-red clay body and the blue of the kase-goma is truly magnificent. (There is some minor flaking of the kase-goma on the rim; also, while this is a relatively recent work, it is not his latest, so it includes a pottery resume dating up to 2004.) Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 6.6cm × 6.3cm × Height 5.6cm After graduating from Meiji University and working in the corporate sector, Juro Harada began his pottery career in 1969. In 1971, he built an ana-gama (tunnel kiln), followed by a noborigama (climbing kiln) the next year, dedicating himself fully to the craft. Starting in 1975, under the guidance of Bizen scholar Saburo Katsura, he visited ancient kiln sites to study old Bizen pottery. In 1991, he constructed an ana-gama in Amidayama, Ushimado. He produced jars, tea ceremony utensils, and leaf-shaped dishes, primarily using the coiling technique with occasional use of the potter's wheel. He held active solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka, and elsewhere. In 1983, he held a two-person exhibition with Kenji Funaki of Fushina ware at the National Museum of Australia. He received the Japan Ceramic Society Award in 2000. In 2002, his work was exhibited at and acquired by the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, for its opening commemorative exhibition. In 2005, his work was acquired by the New Orleans Museum of Art.