Bizen Syuki

This Bizen ware sake vessel was created by the master craftsman Mitsuru Isezaki, who deeply loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to the Bizen region. The "hidasuki" (fire-cord) style of the Isezaki family is heralded as the pinnacle of elegance among all Bizen ware, and it is said that even the legendary Toyo Kaneshige once envied it. This piece is no exception; the hidasuki, carefully fired in a climbing kiln, possesses a profound depth of character. Across its sun-kissed, wheat-colored surface lies a beautifully vibrant and exquisite hidasuki pattern. The rich, thick quality of the fire-cord and the moist texture of the clay powerfully convey the excellence of the material, while its simple and composed aesthetic ensures that one will never tire of it, making it a piece to be enjoyed for years to come. Original signed wooden box (with double-side bracing)
Mouth 3.9cm x Body diameter 9.8cm x Body diameter 9.8cm x Height 15.1cm Capacity 460cc Born in 1934 as the eldest son of Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, Mitsuru Isezaki learned pottery techniques from his father from a young age and majored in sculpture at the Okayama University special art course. As a master of authentic tea ceramics, he pursued the shapes, clay quality, and firing techniques of the Momoyama period. He distinguished between the use of climbing kilns and medieval anagama (tunnel) kilns based on the piece, and insisted on firing with pine wood rather than electric or gas kilns. He became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Toyo Kaneshige Award in 1974. In 1994, he received the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Merit Award, and in 1998, he won the 15th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize. In March of the 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: Recipient of the Toyo Kaneshige Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Cultural Merit Award, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition, among many others / Invited artist at the Prefectural Exhibition