Bizen sake cup

This is a superb new Bizen sake cup by Sosu Kaneshige, who succeeded to the Maruyama kiln as the eldest son of Sozan Kaneshige and captivates many with his harmony of delicate, elegant clay texture and powerful form. As a piece exhibited in a solo exhibition, it features what can safely be called the ultimate *kase-goma* (matte sesame glaze): a beautiful persimmon-like scarlet hue combined with the fine-grained *enoki-hada* (hackberry skin) texture. It is a masterpiece that conveys the spirit of a potter known among Bizen artists as a true connoisseur of sake—the conviction that if one is to drink sake refined with life-risking dedication, it must be received in a vessel made of living clay refined with equal dedication. With an elegant charm reflective of Sosu’s own words, "In the past, a sake cup served as a business card and a measure of one's true ability," the piece creates a unique world by combining a tautly carved foot with an expansive, graceful rising rim. The interior, which appears to capture the sunset sinking into the sea, combined with the wonderful tactile quality of the *kase-goma*, will satisfy the five senses and offer a blissful moment. This piece is fired as a matching pair to the sake flask, Product No. 3638. Signed wooden box (tomobako) with interlocking corners
Diameter 8.5cm x Diameter 8.0cm x Height 4.2cm Sosu Kaneshige is the eldest son of Intangible Cultural Property holder Sozan Kaneshige. He entered the path of pottery under his father in 1969 after graduating from the Faculty of Agriculture at Kyoto University, and became independent in 1979. He primarily focuses on tea ceramics thrown on the wheel, characterized by his deep, nuanced firing techniques. He strives to eliminate unnecessary decoration, focusing instead on channeling his soul directly into the clay. He rarely submits work to public competitions, preferring to focus on solo exhibitions held energetically each year at major department stores in Okayama, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Kumamoto. He also held a solo exhibition in Munich, Germany in 1995 and participated in the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition in 1997.