Bizen Sake Cup

This Bizen sake cup is the work of Mitsuru Isezaki, a master artisan who loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to the region. It exhibits a rich, faintly shimmering shiso-red glaze, allowing one to savor the essence of the dove-grey Kannon clay that Master Isezaki favored. While the aesthetic features a simple composition of sesame glaze and sangiri (black reduction firing), the striking beauty of the shiso-red creates a perfectly balanced appearance. The form follows the fundamentals of Bizen sake cups, designed for a comfortable, intuitive hold with its well-defined shoulder and tall foot. Original box (shihozan)
Diameter 6.5cm x Diameter 6.3cm x Height 6.1cm Born in 1934 as the eldest son of Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, Mitsuru Isezaki learned pottery from his father at a young age and majored in sculpture at the Okayama University Special Art Course. As a master of authentic tea ceramics, he pursued Momoyama-style forms, earthy textures, and firing techniques. He utilized both climbing kilns and medieval-style anagama kilns depending on the piece, strictly refusing electric or gas kilns in favor of firing with pine wood. He became a full 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, followed by 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: Kaneshige Toyo Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Merit Award, Tea Ceremony Ceramics Exhibition Grand Prize, and many others / Prefectural Exhibition invitee