{"product_id":"p6634","title":"Bizen sake bottle","description":"This Bizen sake flask is by Sozan Kaneshige, a master potter who began his career as an assistant to his older brother, the legendary Toyo Kaneshige, and who went on to create works beloved by many as a master of Bizen ware.\u003cbr\u003e\nAlthough Sozan-sensei began creating Bizen ware in earnest at his Maruyama kiln when he was in his mid-fifties, this particular piece is estimated to have been crafted between the ages of sixty and seventy.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe first thing that catches the eye is the rich, sea-slug-like texture and scarlet \"nuke\" (clear patches) created by ash-covered kiln changes—features that are arguably the hallmark of wood-fired pottery.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe rich, sea-slug-like texture is as smooth as the skin of a marine creature, and it is so pleasant to the touch, as if it were secreting a moisturizing agent, that one cannot help but want to run their fingers over it endlessly.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nMoreover, the entire surface is not merely ash-covered; in some areas, it transitions into fine yellow sesame-seed ash glaze, giving it an ore-like atmosphere distinct from that of a premium ash-covered piece, ensuring it never ceases to fascinate.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAs for the work's most striking feature—its intense ornamentation—while non-glazed, wood-fired ceramics like Bizen ware are fundamentally ill-suited to such bold decoration, one is struck by how, thanks to the aforementioned dizzying array of kiln changes, clear patches, and the exquisite balance of the ornamentation itself, the piece miraculously converges into a \"quiet and harmonious\" style.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThough easily overlooked due to the powerful impact of the kiln changes and ornamentation, this piece adopts a traditional flattened-vase shape, a form also utilized by Toyo Kaneshige; the unique presence of this form, which makes it difficult to distinguish a true front, seems to play a role in the quiet reconciliation between the intense decoration and the piece as a whole.\n\nSigned wooden box (four-way locking, double box)\u003cbr\u003e\nRim 3.5cm x Body diameter 9.9cm x Body diameter 9.2cm x Height 12.4cm; Capacity approx. 340cc\n\nSozan Kaneshige (1909–1995) was the younger brother of Living National Treasure for Bizen ware, Toyo Kaneshige, and worked alongside him until around 1951.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nFollowing that, he engaged in service activities for the Oomoto religion in Kyoto, where he also studied techniques other than Bizen ware.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn 1964, he established his independence by building a climbing kiln in Maruyama, Okayama City.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn 1966, he perfected the firing of \"hidasuki\" (fire-cord) patterns using an electric kiln.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn 1982, he moved his studio to Inbe and built the Ushigamishita kiln.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn 1983, he was certified as a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nHe passed away in 1995.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nMajor awards include the Miki Memorial Award, the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Award, the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, the Okayama Prefecture Cultural Award, and the Order of the Rising Sun, Fourth Class.","brand":"金重素山","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46618058752097,"sku":"6634","price":750000.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/9916\/8865\/files\/6634.jpg?v=1790231705","url":"https:\/\/tourakuen.myshopify.com\/en\/products\/p6634","provider":"川口陶楽苑","version":"1.0","type":"link"}