Bizen Guinomi

This is a Bizen guinomi by the fourth-generation Kasan Matsuda, who inherited the techniques of the third-generation Kasan as one of the most orthodox practitioners of tea ceramics.

A career history sheet dated Heisei 10 (1998) is included, and this piece is believed to have been made around that time.

With no gimmicks or affectation, it is a straightforward, all-out shiso-purple guinomi. The deep, rich tone is exactly what you would expect from the solitary mastery of the fourth-generation Kasan.

The form, like the firing, is brought together with remarkable simplicity: a wide, flat foot and the understated carving on the body reveal the refined skill of a true master.

The entire piece is a basic, single shiso tone, and precisely because of that, the Kigoma that falls from the rim into the interior stands out beautifully.

Sadly, the Matsuda Kasan lineage came to an end with this fourth generation, yet it is deeply moving to feel how the techniques passed down through four generations live on in the work and are carried from person to person.

Although this is an earlier piece, there is no staining or sense of use.

He was born in Bizen City, Okayama Prefecture in 1936.
He became the fourth-generation Matsuda Kasan in 1955.
He passed away in 2003.