Aka-e sake cup

This is an akae (red-painted) guinomi sake cup by the master potter Mitsuru Isezaki, who deeply loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to the region. It is a rare piece featuring akae decoration, with a refined form complemented by understated painting that gives it a stylish flair. The potter's mark is also hand-painted, featuring an "I" (伊) character that is quite charming. Its smooth glaze feels pleasant against the lips, and paired with its tall, slender shape, it promises to make your sake taste even better. Original signed wooden box (nijusan style)
Diameter 5.4cm × Diameter 5.4cm × Height 5.7cm 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 later majored in sculpture at Okayama University's Special Art Course. As a master of authentic tea ceramics, he pursued the shapes, clay qualities, and firing techniques of the Momoyama period. He carefully chose between climbing kilns and medieval-style anagama (tunnel kilns) depending on the piece, strictly avoiding electric or gas kilns in favor of firing with pine wood. He became a regular member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Toyo Kaneshige Memorial Award in 1974. He was honored with the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Merit Award in 1994 and the 15th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize in 1998. In March of that same year, he was designated as a Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property holder. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 77.
Awards: Recipient of numerous honors, including the Toyo Kaneshige Memorial Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Merit Award, and the Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition; served as an invited exhibitor for the Prefectural Art Exhibition.