Bizen Hidasuki Teacup

This is a Bizen Hidasuki tea cup by Masamine Kakurezaki, a master who forged his own unique path under the tutelage of giants of modern ceramics. The cup possesses a distinct elegance characteristic of Kakurezaki, who was well-versed in diverse arts including watercolor and ink painting, as well as maki-e lacquerware. The essence of this elegance lies in its form: it was created by using a slab of clay as the base and curling another slab into a cylinder, resulting in a unique standing silhouette. It is deeply moving to see how he inherited the "wood-grain Bizen" technique from his close friend and contemporary, the 4th Kazan, and combined it with his own signature "four seasons carving." This masterpiece is a testament to the lives of two great masters, intertwined like the grain of wood. Signed wooden box (double-crosspiece)
Diameter 7.9cm x Diameter 7.8cm x Height 9.3cm Masamine Kakurezaki began by studying maki-e under lacquer artist Jinsai Namba at the Okayama Prefectural Industrial School (now Okayama Technical High School) in 1935. After the war, inspired by the style of Toyo Kaneshige, he sought guidance in teapot-making, which launched his career in ceramics. He also studied under Toshu Yamamoto. Breaking free from the traditional confines of Bizen ware, he created a diverse range of expressions, including "painted Bizen" and "gold-leaf Bizen" that utilized his maki-e skills, "Jomon Bizen" (rope-pattern Bizen) featuring red surfaces without kiln-alteration, intensely kiln-altered "Oni-Bizen," and pieces with the textures of Sue ware. He became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1969 and was designated a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture in 1980. He exhibited at the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition in 1997. He also enjoyed painting, calligraphy, and waka poetry, having published four collections of his poems. Kazan Matsuda was his brother-in-law.
Awards: Recipient of the Toyo Kaneshige Prize, Sanyo Shimbun Prize, Minister of Education Encouragement Prize, Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th Class, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Award, Miki Memorial Prize, and many others / Member of the Prefectural Exhibition judging committee