Bizen ware sake cup

This is a Bizen sake cup by Sozan Kaneshige, a master potter loved by many, who began his career as an assistant to his older brother, the genius potter Toyo Kaneshige. Sozan Kaneshige spent years working in his brother’s shadow, refusing to sell his own works until he was over fifty; this piece was created around the age of sixty, when his work first began to reach the public. It was fired in the "hi-zen" (front-fire) position within the kiln, resulting in a smooth, glass-like coating of "goma" (ash glaze) that appears to coat the piece. This firing technique was particularly common among the Kaneshige family for tea bowls, as they sought to achieve a smooth mouthfeel and texture essential to fine tea ceramics. This sake cup inherits those qualities, possessing an aesthetic closer to a small tea bowl—or "sake bowl"—than a traditional sake cup, offering the refined scenery and excellent tactile quality characteristic of fine tea ware. The clay used is of the highest possible quality, worthy of being called "special grade." Features unique to the excellent clay used by the Kaneshige family are evident in the soft, brown earth tones on the back where the yellow goma has melted, and in the color variations from the "dosenbo" clay used to prevent fusion at the foot.

View blog post about Sozan Kaneshige Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 7.1cm × Diameter 7.1cm × Height 5.5cm Sozan Kaneshige (1909–1995) was the younger brother of Living National Treasure Toyo Kaneshige, and worked alongside him until around 1951. He was a leading figure in tea ceramics, known for his masterful "hi-dasuki" (fire-cord) technique in the Momoyama style. In 1964, he built the Maruyama kiln in the eastern suburbs of Okayama City, and in 1966, he garnered significant attention for presenting Momoyama-style hi-dasuki pieces fired in an electric kiln. He moved to Inbe in 1982 to build the Ushigami-shita kiln, and in 1983, he was designated as a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the prefecture. He received numerous honors, including the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, the Okayama Prefecture Cultural Award, and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette. He passed away in 1995.