Yohen Sake Cup

This is a new *yohen* (kiln-transformed) sake cup by Koichiro Isezaki, who was born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and is breathing new life into the Bizen pottery world with his exceptional sense of style and skillful molding technique. While leveraging the inherent qualities of Bizen clay, he successfully incorporates essences from his roots—such as wood carving—to create unique works that are instantly recognizable as his own. For this piece, he finished the vessel by scraping out the inner clay with a spatula, creating a beautiful spherical silhouette impossible to achieve with a potter's wheel, with the folds of the clay from the scraping process serving as a striking accent. The *keshiki* (scenery) is a rare *yohen* produced in an anagama kiln, uniting traditional Bizen kiln transformation with innovative Bizen form. The interior of the cup features a metallic, purplish clay texture seen only in anagama kiln *yohen*. Signed wooden box to follow (please allow some time for shipping).
Diameter 7.7cm × Diameter 7.3cm × Height 6.1cm Koichiro Isezaki was born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki. The Isezaki family is a prestigious name in Bizen pottery; his grandfather was Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, and his uncle was Intangible Cultural Property holder Mitsuru Isezaki, and he aspired to pursue pottery from an early age. After graduating from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo Zokei University in 1994, he studied abroad in the United States. He studied pottery for approximately two years under New York-based ceramic artist Jeff Shapiro, which greatly broadened his perspective on art and ceramics. After returning to Japan in 2000, he trained under his father alongside his father's apprentices. In 2002, he submitted a work to the Tanabe Museum of Art's Tea Ceremony Exhibition for the first time and was selected.