Bizen Yohen Sake Cup

This is a Bizen yohen sake cup by Yoshiteru Koriki, a popular young artist who was an apprentice to the master Sozan Kaneshige. I commissioned Mr. Koriki to create this sake vessel with the image of the very large cups favored by ancient warlords. Although it is a very bold work, sized like a rice bowl, its clay texture—which combines the delicacy and strength of a blend of mountain and rice paddy soils—does not feel unrefined. The interior features a majestic circular "sun" mark that looks as if the sun has been set into it, making this an auspicious cup that evokes the image of a sunrise. Signed wooden box (shiho-zan style)
Diameter 14.5cm × Diameter 14.2cm × Height 5.4cm Yoshiteru Koriki was born in Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture. Influenced by his father, who loved pottery, he aspired to become a ceramic artist. After graduating from high school in 1989, he studied ceramic techniques under the master Sozan Kaneshige and his son, Yuho Kaneshige. After seven years of training, he built his own climbing kiln in Shizutani, Bizen City, in 1996 and established his independence, achieving success with his first kiln firing the following year. He held his first solo exhibition in Tokyo in 2000 and has held solo exhibitions every year since. In 1999, he was selected for the "Exhibition of Confectionary Vessels I Would Like to Use," and in 2002, he was selected for the "Tea Ceremony Modeling Exhibition" for the first time.