Ibe Shuten

This Ibe guinomi (sake cup) is the work of the master craftsman Mitsuru Isezaki, who loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to Bizen. The piece features a harmonious blend of a rich, bright shiso-red hue and a metallic, copper-like grey texture. The profound yellow sesame glaze (goma) and the unpretentious style clearly reflect Mitsuru's philosophy of pottery. The grey earth of the interior, which radiates a dull luster, transforms into a calm, classic Bizen aesthetic once sake is poured into it. Signed wooden box (shihozan) included
Diameter 6.2cm x Diameter 6.2cm x Height 6.0cm Born in 1934 as the eldest son of the Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, Mitsuru Isezaki learned pottery from his father from a young age and majored in sculpture at the Okayama University Special Art Course. As an authentic tea ceramicist, he pursued Momoyama-period styling, earthen textures, and firing techniques. He distinguished between the use of climbing kilns and medieval anagama kilns depending on the work, insisting on firing with pine wood and never using electric or gas kilns. He became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Toyo Kaneshige Award in 1974. He received 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: Toyo Kaneshige 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 / Guest exhibitor at Prefectural Exhibitions