Bizen-yaki Shino Guinomi (Sake Cup)

This Bizen *shinogi* (fluted) guinomi is the work of the prodigy Juroku Harada, who was famously called "frighteningly talented" while studying old Bizen pottery alongside the great Bizen scholar, Matasaburo Katsura. True to its name, this piece is an explosion of dynamic, free-flowing spatula marks. The powerful carving is matched by a generous coating of *goma* (ash glaze), featuring a stunning, non-glossy matte green hue. Embedded in the carved "六" (Roku) potter’s mark on the base are three grains of *ginsa* (sand used in the kiln), a fascinating detail that epitomizes the dynamic nature of Harada’s work. Original signed box (shiho-zan style)
Diameter 6.7cm × 6.5cm × Height 5.5cm After graduating from Meiji University and working in the corporate world, Juroku Harada began his pottery career in 1969. He built his first *ana-gama* (tunnel kiln) in 1971 and a climbing kiln the following year, fully dedicating himself to ceramic art. Beginning in 1975, under the guidance of old Bizen scholar Matasaburo Katsura, he visited ancient kiln sites to study historical Bizen pottery. In 1991, he built a new *ana-gama* on Mt. Amida in Ushimado. He focused on producing jars, tea ceremony utensils, and *haza* (leaf-shaped plates), using the coiling technique supplemented at times by the potter's wheel. He held active solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Osaka, and elsewhere. In 1983, he held a two-person exhibition at the National Museum of Ethnology in Australia with Kenji Funaki of Fushina ware. He received the Japan Ceramic Society Award in 2000. In 2002, his work was exhibited and acquired for the opening commemorative exhibition of the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, and in 2005, his work was acquired by the New Orleans Museum of Art.