Hidasuki sake cup

This is a Hidasuki (fire-cord) sake cup by Sozan Kaneshige, a master craftsman beloved for his Bizen ware, who began his career as an assistant to his older brother, the legendary potter Toyo Kaneshige. While Sozan-sensei began his serious work in Bizen ware at his Maruyama kiln in his mid-fifties, this particular piece was created when he was in his late sixties and features the Hidasuki firing technique in an electric kiln, which became one of his hallmarks. In contrast to the intensely fired, sharp-lined Hidasuki of his mid-sixties, this piece displays a softer orange hue, with the Hidasuki patterns themselves appearing somewhat hazy and gently diffused. The cup is adorned with two-petaled chrysanthemum crests on three sides, a unique aesthetic touch reflecting the sensibilities Sozan-sensei developed through his close association with artists like Munemaro Ishiguro. The "goke-soko" (Go-stone container) style base is carved with a vigorous stroke that shaves away the outer edge, while the interior is finished with a slow, singular sweep, creating a perfect harmony with the soft, expansive form of the vessel. Thrown on a very slow potter's wheel, the cup bears traces of the clay's rotation in the base of the interior, where the potter's fingers guided the movement—a slow, dignified record of the clay's shaping that produces the exceptional sense of presence characteristic of a master of tea ceramics.

View blog post about Sozan Kaneshige Signed wooden box (Shihozan style)
Diameter 7.5cm × Diameter 7.4cm × Height 6.3cm Sozan Kaneshige (1909–1995) was the younger brother of Living National Treasure Toyo Kaneshige, with whom he worked until around 1951. Renowned as a leading figure in tea ceramics, he excelled in the Momoyama-style Hidasuki technique. In 1964, he built the Maruyama kiln in the eastern suburbs of Okayama City, and in 1966, he garnered widespread acclaim for his debut of Momoyama-style Hidasuki fired in an electric kiln. He moved to Inbe in 1982 to establish the Ushigamishita kiln, and in 1983, he was designated a holder of an Okayama Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property. He was a recipient of the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, the Okayama Prefecture Cultural Award, and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. He passed away in 1995.