Guinomi

Kei Ushigaki trained under Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and later established his own kiln in Kagoshima, his grandfather’s homeland.

Seeing Bizen-yaki from the distance of Kagoshima allowed him to rediscover its appeal; this piece embodies that renewed vision.

Fired in an anagama kiln he built in Kagoshima using fine clay, it features a bright gray fire pattern accented by a vivid, ripened-persimmon scarlet break.

Inside the well, the firing progressed further than on the scarlet front, yielding the dense shiso-purple tone that is quintessential to Bizen-yaki.

In form, it faithfully carries the Isezaki clan vocabulary: thrown with generous thickness, then pared along the sides into an elegant octagonal profile.

Kei Ushigaki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1989.

After graduating from Kyoto Traditional Crafts University in 2013, he studied under Jun Isezaki, honing his ceramic technique.

In 2018, he established himself as an independent potter in Kagoshima Prefecture.