Bizen sake cup

This is a Bizen ware sake cup by the master craftsman Mitsuru Isezaki, who loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to the region. It features a powerful reduction firing, resulting in "ao-bizen" (blue Bizen) coloring in the lighter areas. The interior and the "kumadori" (shaded areas) exhibit scarlet and gold highlights, which stand out vividly against the black and blue landscape of the piece. The ash-covered section resembles a reef, allowing the owner to enjoy the blue surface as if it were the sea. (Please note that as this is a previous work, there may be slight signs of use.) Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 6.4cm x 6.3cm x Height 5.8cm Mitsuru Isezaki was born in 1934 as the eldest son of 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 an authentic tea ceramic artist, he pursued the forms, soil textures, and firing techniques of the Momoyama period. He distinguished between using a climbing kiln and a medieval-style anagama kiln depending on the work, and remained dedicated to firing with pine wood, never using electric or gas kilns. He became a regular member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Kaneshige Toyo Award in 1974. In 1994, he received the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Merit Award, and in 1998, he won the 15th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize. In March of the 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: Kaneshige Toyo Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Merit Award, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Modeling Exhibition, and many others / Prefectural Exhibition Guest Artist