Restraint
and Flamboyance
MASTERWORKS
OF MINORestraint
and Flamboyance
MASTERWORKS
OF MINO

Joan B Mirviss LTD
with Shibuya Kurodatoen Co., LTD

The Foundations andReincarnations of
Mino Ceramics
Andrew L. Maske

THE PROVINCE OF MINO IN
THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH
CENTURIES
Mino Province (now Gifu Prefecture) is located in
the very center of Japan’s main island of Honshū.
Because of its important industries of sword
and paper making, as well as its proximity to theancient capital of Kyoto, it has been a significant
cultural and political area through Japan’srecorded history. Perhaps because of its role as
the crossroads of Japan, Mino and its adjacentprovince of Owari saw the development of Japan’s
earliest glazed, high-fired ceramics beginning in
the ninth century.
Mino was also the site of some of Japan’s greatest
military conflicts, most notably the Battle ofSekigahara, which in 1600 solidified the positionof the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu (fig. 1) allowing
him to create a dynasty that would rule Japan forover 250 years. One of Ieyasu’s supporters in that
confrontation was the warrior/tea master Furuta
Shigenari (1544–1615), better known as Furuta
Oribe. Oribe had been a student of the tea masterSen no Rikyū (1521–1591), who is credited with
codifying the formalized practice of powdered
tea drinking known as chanoyu, or the Japanese2

FIG 1 . Portrait of Tokugawa Ieyasu by unknown Kanō
School artist. Color and ink on silk; hanging scroll.
Collection of the Nikkō Tōshōgu Shrine.

tea ceremony. Rikyū met his end when he wasordered to commit ritual suicide (seppuku) by hislord, the ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598),
because of his involvement with the political issuesof the day. Ironically, Oribe followed Rikyū as
leading tea master and met the same fate in 1615
when it was discovered that he had changed sides
and was secretly supporting Hideyoshi’s heir who
opposed Ieyasu.

stronger patterns, and sharper contrasts. His
influence is most clearly seen in the medium ofceramics. Although he affected tea ware style at
production areas throughout Japan, Oribe’s impact
is most clearly seen in the ceramics of Mino.

What was it about chanoyu that made it so
important to the powerful men of sixteenthand seventeenth century Japan? Although thephilosophical, social, and religious underpinnings
were of significance, shifting aesthetics and thecompetition for prized utensils and artworks had
a greater impact on making chanoyu involvement
a standard for taste and culture among Japan’s
elite warriors.

Although not produced in the same province, both
Seto and Mino ceramics historically were referred
to as Seto ware. Potters from Owari and Minomigrated between the two areas and often madesimilar items using the same techniques.

Rikyū had been among those to create anaesthetic revolution in Tea by advocating asimpler and more austere approach to chanoyu
known as wabicha, using utensils of subdued
and rustic domestic manufacture rather than therare Chinese antiques that had been preferredpreviously. After Rikyū’s death, Oribe became theforemost arbiter of chanoyu taste, designing tea
gardens (roji), tea huts (chashitsu) and promoting
his preferences for tea utensils (chadōgu). Because
the first utensils for preparing matcha were
imported from China in the thirteenth century,
chanoyu developed within the assumption thatthe utensils used and the art displayed should be
rare, if not unique. While Rikyū’s aesthetic focusedon subtle variations of hue, shape, texture, andmaterial, Oribe advocated items that were bolder
departures from convention. Even as he continued
to espouse Rikyū’s basic approach to chanoyu
practice, Oribe made significantly different
aesthetic choices, introducing greater distortion,

THE EMERGENCE OF DISTINCTIVE
MINO CERAMICS

In the first half of the sixteenth century, military
conflicts in Owari province resulted in the
migration of a large number of potters into eastern
Mino. There, they developed a new, larger type ofkiln, the ōgama, and under the influence of Kyoto
and Sakai tea masters, began creating new kindsof tea ceramics. Represented in this catalogue aremodern interpretations of the four major ceramic
genres created by the Mino potters: Yellow Seto
(ki-seto), Black Seto (seto-guro), Shino and Oribe.
The first two are considered to be earlier anddate from the ōgama era in the second half of thesixteenth century. The latter two both feature
painted decoration and began somewhat later.
Oribe ware was produced only following the
introduction of another type of kiln, the climbing
kiln (noborigama), around 1600. Shino wares arefound in ōgama kiln sites but only in consumer
sites that post-date 1600, so it seems that ōgama
production continued beyond the sixteenth
century, perhaps changing from Black Seto andYellow Seto wares to Shino wares after 1600.
Of the four Mino ceramic types, Oribe ware (fig. 2)
is by far the most varied. Its most distinguishing3

shape, although items such as teabowls may haveirregularities similar to those of Shino. Incisedand molded patterns are sometimes seen, as is theuse of patches of copper-green as highlights. Black
Seto ware (fig. 5) was limited to teabowls, whichwere pulled out from the kiln in the midst of firingand rapidly cooled to cause their glaze to mature
to a jet-black color. The bowls tend to be deep,
with nearly vertical walls, and may have been an
influence on Sen no Rikyū in his development of
black Raku tea bowls around the same time.

FIG 2 . Mino ware, Narumi Oribe type ewer with cherry blossoms andpicnic curtain. Early 17th century. Glazed stoneware, 8 1 / 8 in. (H).
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of Mary & Jackson Burke Foundation,2015. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.300.270a–c.

characteristics are: 1) asymmetrical shapes; 2)idiosyncratic painted designs; and 3) use of acopper-green glaze on part or all of a piece. In fact,
virtually every example of Oribe ware displays
at least one of these features. Shino ware (fig. 3)
displays only moderate irregularity and its painted
patterns are generally abbreviated adaptationsof flora from nature. It is beloved for its thick,irregular white glaze that sometimes blushes
orange where it is thin. The Nobel Prize-winning
novelist Kawabata Yasunari used a Shino teabowl
as the alter-ego of his tragic heroine Mrs. Ota in
the novel Thousand Cranes (Senbazuru, 1952).
Mouse-gray (nezumi) Shino is a variation thatis created by applying an iron wash underneaththe white glaze. Yellow Seto ware (fig. 4) has nopainted decoration and is usually symmetrical in
4

In the 1620s, the Oribe style began to lose
popularity among tea practitioners. With thepeace and policy of national isolation ushered
in by the Tokugawa shogunate, many potters
moved back to Owari Province, where a collateralbranch of the Tokugawa family was in control.
Potters remaining in Mino shifted production
to basic utilitarian wares such as sake flasks.
Fine examples of tea ceramics from earlier MinoFIG 3 . Mino ware, Shino type straight-sided teabowl with bridge pattern inunderglaze iron-oxide. Late 16th century. Glazed stoneware, 4 1/ 8 � 5 1/ 2 in.
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of Mary & Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.300.271.

FIG 4 . Mino ware, Yellow Seto (ki-seto) type food dish (mukozuke).
Late 16th century.
Glazed stoneware, 2 1/ 2 � 2 1/ 8 in. Private collection.

FIG 5 . Mino ware, Black Seto type teabowl, known as “Iron Mallet.”
Late 16th century. Glazed stoneware, 3 11/ 16 � 4 3/ 4 in. Mary Griggs Burke
Collection, Gift of Mary & Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.300.272.

production were handed down in prominentcollections, but their Mino origins were soon
forgotten, if they were ever acknowledged at all.

MINO CERAMICS IN THE
MODERN AGE

While ceramics production spread and diversified
throughout Japan, Mino styles such as Shinoand Oribe remained in obscurity throughout theeighteenth century. A few Kyoto potters madehomage pieces during that time, which kept
recognition of the old styles alive. It was not until
the first half of the nineteenth century that Minostyle ceramics began to experience a revival.
Seto potters like Katō Shuntai (1802–1877) founda ready market for new ceramics in the style ofOribe ware in particular. This Mino revival period
overlapped with the reopening of Japan in the
1850s and 1860s, and collectors and dealers like
Edward S. Morse (1838–1925) and Siegfried Bing
(1838–1905) began to introduce Mino styles toconnoisseurs in America and Europe, but during
this time the pieces were still believed to haveoriginated in Seto.

Finally, in 1930, the budding potter Arakawa
Toyozō discovered sherds of Shino ware near
the Mino town of Toki where he grew up. One inparticular closely matched a cylindrical tea bowl
decorated with a bamboo shoots design that had
been handed down since the Momoyama period.
Arakawa’s discovery and subsequent excavations
proved beyond doubt that Shino, Black Seto, Yellow
Seto, and Oribe wares were first produced in Mino,
not Seto as previously thought.
Arakawa’s find was only the most significant ofa series of investigations of kiln sites throughout
Japan and Korea (then part of the Japanese
Empire) that helped to transform understandingof early ceramics, particularly the stoneware kilns
that had produced ceramics for Tea. As a result,in the 1920s and 1930s, potters, researchers, andothers carried out kiln excavations in ceramics5

producing areas that included Karatsu, Bizen, Hagi,
Arita, and Takatori, as well as Mino. This, in turn,led to a new revival of interest in reproducing themost compelling aspects of these historical wares
and eventually led to the creation of new versionsof tea ceramics that fit the modern aesthetic andcreative spirit of the time.
The movement to resurrect and reinvigorate
the sixteenth and seventeenth century tea waresof Mino, Karatsu, Bizen, Shigaraki, Iga, Raku,
and other styles during the twentieth century
is known as the Momoyama Revival. Following
Japan’s defeat in World War II and the resulting
Allied Occupation, the activity that had begun in
the 1930s found added stimulus with the spreadof international art trends such as abstract
expressionism. A new clientele for Japanese art
and craft was also introduced, in the form ofnearly 300,000 Allied (mostly American) military
personnel. Ceramics became a vehicle throughwhich Japanese traditional culture, embraced by
the Imperial authorities as evidence of Japan’s
unique place in the world during the war but largely
discredited in the immediate aftermath of defeat,could reassert itself as a relevant creative force.
An important, yet sometimes overlooked, aspect ofMomoyama Revival ceramics is the fact that manyof the most influential personalities did not comefrom traditional ceramics-producing households.
Kitaōji Rosanjin is the most outstanding example,
having begun his professional life as a calligrapher
and coming to ceramics through his love of good
food, food presentation, and his antiquarian
interests. Arakawa Toyozō grew up in a Mino
ceramics community, but did not begin to learn
ceramics himself until his late twenties, and thendid so in Kyoto, not Mino. Kawakita Handeishi
was famously a major figure in the financial world
before focusing on ceramics in later life, and6

FIG 6 . Kaneshige Tōyō. Mino ware, Shino type teabowl. ca. 1945.
Glazed stoneware, 3 3/4 � 5 7/ 8 in. (see p. 24)

Takauchi Shūgō was a stockbroker who decided
to become a potter at age 30.
There are certainly exceptions to this, such as
the Mino potter Katō Tōkurō (1897–1985), Bizen’s
Kaneshige Tōyō (1896–1967), Miwa Kyūsetsu X(later known as Kyūwa (1895–1981) of Hagi, andthe Karatsu potter Nakazato Tarōemon XII (later
known as Muan, 1895–1985). These potters fromestablished ceramics lineages refocused theirfamilies’ traditions by their active participation in
the research into Momoyama ceramic productionthat was taking place as they came into maturity(fig. 6). There were even collaborations withpotters from non-ceramic backgrounds, such as
the Karahine-kai that was founded by Kawakita
Handeishi with Kaneshige, Miwa and Arakawa
Toyozō in 1942 to promote the creation of
Momoyama-style ceramics that were in keepingwith their own age. Nevertheless, the craftsmen
from established ceramics families were rather
limited in the extent to which they could explore
traditions outside their own, in ways that others
were not.

The craftsmen mentioned above can be considered
the first generation of Momoyama Revival potters.
During their period of greatest influence, the1950s, a new generation of ceramics makers wascoming of age. These young men differed fromtheir forebears in that they were generally trainedin ceramics programs in vocational institutes orart schools, even if they were born into potting
families. As a result, they had broader exposure to
new ideas and different styles. Some of them, likethe members of Sōdeisha (The Sliding ThroughMud Society) positively rejected traditional
approaches to ceramics, at least early in theircareers.
It is interesting that many of this later generationof ceramics makers eventually softened theirstance against traditional vessels, including themembers of Sōdeisha featured in this exhibition:
Yagi Kazuo and Kumakura Junkichi. It isfurthermore intriguing that none of the later
generation potters featured here, even those who
focused mainly on vessels, limited themselves
solely to traditional Mino formats. Even Katō
Tōkurō’s son, Okabe Mineo, became a master ofceladon as well as an outstanding Mino potter,
and Katō Yasukage (fig. 7) spent several years of
his youth living and working in Bizen. Far from
diluting the power of the Mino tradition, thisdiversification of skills has enriched the realm ofcontemporary Mino ceramics and created works
that go far beyond modern versions of Momoyama
period tea wares.
It is a tribute to the originality and taste ofJapanese ceramics makers and their patrons overthe past four hundred years that the Mino styles
have not only managed to survived, but to thrive,as the works of current Japanese potters invoking
these ancient formats continue to delight ceramics
lovers around the world today.

FIG 7 . Katō Yasukage. Mino ware, Gray Shino type (nezumi-shino)vase. 1998. Glazed stoneware, 8 1/ 2 � 5 in.

Andrew L. Maske is Associate Professor of Art History(Asianist) at the University of Kentucky. His numerous
publications on Japanese ceramics include Potters andPatrons in Edo Period Japan: Takatori Ware and the
Kuroda Domain (Ashgate 2011).

7

WORKS IN EXHIBITION

8

9

10

<

OKABE MINEO (1919–1990)
岡 部嶺 男Pair of straight-sided Mino ware
teacups: one Oribe type and theother Shino type with iron glazeca. 1960
Glazed stoneware
3 7/ 8 � 2 1/ 2 in.
3 3/4 � 2 5/8 in.
>

OKABE MINEO
Mino ware, Oribe type, striated,square plate with low straightsides and cut corners
ca. 1965		
Glazed stoneware
1 1/ 8 � 9 5/8 � 9 5/8 in.
<

OKABE MINEO
Mino ware, Oribe type, columnar
vase with alternating carved
bandingca. 1963
Glazed stoneware
8 1/4 � 4 1/ 4 in.

11

>

ARAKAWA TOYOZŌ (1894 –1985)
荒川豊蔵
Mino ware, Yellow Seto (ki-seto) vasein the shape of a kinuta (wooden blockfor beating cloth)ca. 1955
Glazed stoneware
8 1/ 8 � 4 in.
<

OKABE MINEO
Mino ware, Oribe type, round bowl
with alternating carved bandingca. 1965
Glazed stoneware
3 3/4 � 9 1/ 2 in.

>

OKABE MINEO
Mino ware, Oribe type, tokkuri -stylevase with alternating carved bandingca. 1962
Glazed stoneware
8 3/4 � 4 1/ 2 in.

12

13

<

ARAKAWA TOYOZŌ

<Mino ware, Painted Shino (e-shino) type,straight-sided teabowl withbridge pattern in iron-oxide
ca. 1965–74
Glazed stoneware
3 5/8 � 5 3/8 in.
Exhibited/published: Ningen kokuhō
Arakawa Toyozō Exhibition, Museum ofFine Arts, Gifu, and other venues, 2007–09
and in accompanying publication, pl. 58.

ARAKAWA TOYOZŌ
Mino ware, Shino type, straight-sided
teabowl with unglazed circle in interiorca. 1965–74
Glazed stoneware
5 1/8 � 5 1/4 in.

14<

OKABE MINEO
Mino ware, Painted Shino (e-shino) type,teabowl with underglaze
geometric patterning in iron-oxide
ca. 1965
Glazed stoneware
3 3/8 � 5 1/2 � 5 3/8 in.
<

OKABE MINEO
Mino ware, Shino type, straight-sided teabowl
decorated with unusual carved, angularpatterning with iron-oxide glazeca. 1955
Glazed stoneware
3 1/4 � 3 3/4 � 4 in.

15

16

KITAŌJI ROSANJIN (1883–1959)
北大路魯山人Mino ware, Oribe type, vase in the form of a stemmed
gourd with incised woven bamboo patterningca. 1958
Glazed stoneware
8 � 6 7/8 in.

<<KITAŌJI ROSANJIN
Mino ware, Oribe type, square, curved
platter with reed patterning
1949
Glazed stoneware
1 5/8 � 10 3/8 � 10 3/8 in.

17<KITAŌJI ROSANJIN
Mino ware, Red Shino type, straight-sided
teabowl with lattice patterningca. 1955
Glazed stoneware
3 3/4 � 5 � 5 1/8 in.
Published: Kuroda, Ryōji. Kitaōji Rosanjin:kokoro to sakuhin. Tokyo, 1983, p. 45, pl.
26; Takegoshi, Nagao. Nyu-mon Rosanjinno tōki Tokyo, 1977, p. 26.
>

KITAŌJI ROSANJIN

Mino ware, Gray Shino (nezumi-shino)
type, teabowl with lattice patterningand slightly flared lip
ca. 1958
Glazed stoneware
4 5/8 � 4 3/4 in.

18

KITAŌJI ROSANJIN
Mino ware, Red Shino type, undulating squareplate with iris patterningca. 1957
Glazed stoneware
1 3/4 � 11 3/8 in.

19

>

KATŌ HAJIME (1900–1968)
加 藤肇
Mino ware, Narumi Oribe type,kutsu (clog-shaped) teabowl
with beads-on-string patterningca. 1948
Glazed stoneware
4 7/8 � 5 1/4 in.

<<KITAŌJI ROSANJINKUMAKURA JUNKICHI

Mino ware, Oribe type, cylindrical vase withattenuated eared handles and rolled-in mouthca. 1955
Glazed stoneware
10 3/4 � 4 1/8 � 5 1/4 in.

(1920–1985)
熊倉順吉
Mino ware, Oribe type, straight-sided bowl
with irregular mouth, ca. 1960
Glazed stoneware
15 5/8 � 15 1/4 in.
21

22

<

<

KAWAKITA HANDEISHI (1878–1963)

KAWAKITA HANDEISHI

川喜田半泥子Mino ware, Black Oribe (kuro-oribe) type,
Momoyama-style kutsu (clog-shaped) teabowl
with central white section decorated with
underglaze grasses patterningca. 1943
Glazed stoneware
6 1/8 � 6 1/4 in.

Mino ware, Shino type, roundteabowl with high foot and abstract
underglaze patterning in iron-oxide
ca. 1940
Glazed stoneware
5 1/4 � 5 7/8 in.

23

<

KANESHIGE TŌYŌ (1896–1967)
金重陶陽
Mino ware, rare Shino type, straightwalled teabowl made when working
at Arakawa’s Mutabora kiln
ca. 1945
Glazed stoneware
3 3/4 � 5 7/8 in.

24>

YAGI KAZUO (1918–1979)

八木一夫
Mino ware, round, squat, mizusashi(waterjar) with dripping Shino glaze
and matching ceramic coverca. 1970
Glazed stoneware
5 1/4 � 8 1/8 in.

25

>

SUZUKI OSAMU (KURA) (b. 1934)
鈴木蔵
Mino ware, Shino type, tall
five-lobed (cherry blossomshaped) vesselca. 1994
Glazed stoneware
11 � 11 1/4 in.

<

KOIE RYŌJI (b. 1938)
鯉江良二
Mino ware, Oribe type, tsubō (vessel)with iron-oxide splash patterning andincised abstract patterning
1991
Glazed stoneware
11 5/8 � 10 1/4 in.
>

SUZUKI GORŌ (b. 1941)
鈴木五郎
Mino ware, Narumi Oribe (green, brown
and white-glazed) type, geometricpatterned tea caddy with matching coverca. 1996
Glazed stoneware
4 � 2 3/8 in.

26

27

28

<

SUZUKI OSAMU (KURA)
Mino ware, Shino type, straight-walledteabowl with irregular mouth anddecoration in iron-oxide
2010
Glazed stoneware
3 5/8 � 5 3/8 � 5 3/4 in.
Exhibited/published: Gendai no meiwanten (Master Teabowls of Our Days).
Tokyo: Muse�e Tomo, 2013, pl. 30.
>

SUZUKI OSAMU (KURA)
Mino ware, Shino type, faceted,
thickly walled teabowl
2015
Glazed stoneware
4 3/8 � 4 5/8 � 5 1/8 in.
<

SUZUKI OSAMU (KURA)
Mino ware, Shino type, sculptural
vessel comprised of three thick, folded,
conjoined slabs, banded in a creamy
white glaze on red clayca. 1980
Glazed stoneware
11 3/8 � 11 1/8 � 11 3/8 in.

29

>

HAYASHI SHŌTARŌ (b. 1947)
林正太郎
Mino ware, Shino type, slightly
curved-walled, shallow basinwith iron-oxide patterningca. 1985
Glazed stoneware
5 1/8 � 12 5/8 in.

<

WAKAO TOSHISADA (b. 1933)
若尾利貞
Mino ware, Oribe type, irregular, cubeshaped vase with triangular patterningin iron-oxide and impressed designs
ca. 2004
Glazed stoneware
71/4 � 6 1/4 in.
>

SUZUKI OSAMU (KURA)
Mino ware, Shino type, cherry-blossomshaped mizusashi (waterjar) with vertical
stripes in red clay and milky white glaze
1988
Glazed stoneware
9 1/8 � 8 1/4 in.
Exhibited/published: Shino - Suzuki Osamu,
Takashimaya Art Galleries, Tokyo, Osaka,
Kyoto and Yokohama, 2001, p.17.

30

31

32

<

KATŌ SHIGETAKA (1927–2013)

<

<

加藤重高
Mino ware, Oribe type, covered
rectangular box with decoration in four
quadrants and tree design in interiorca. 1978
Glazed stoneware
6 1/4 × 9 1/2 × 8 1/2 in.

WAKAO TOSHISADAKATŌ YASUKAGE (1964–2012)

Mino ware, Gray Shino (nezumi-shino) type, cylindricalmizusashi (waterjar) with matching recessed coverca. 1990
Glazed stoneware
6 1/2 × 6 7/8 in.

加藤康景
Mino ware, Oribe type, rectangular, footed
platter with carved, spiral patterningca. 2005
Glazed stoneware
2 1/2 × 18 × 7 1/4 in.

33

34

<

TAKAUCHI SHŪGŌ (b. 1937)
高 内秀 剛Mino ware, Oribe type, tsubō(vessel) with wide raised
mouth and carved irregularlinear patterning
2012
Glazed stoneware
12 × 12 in.

<<KATŌ YASUKAGE
Mino ware, Black Seto type,teabowl with irregular mouth andslightly crawling glazeca. 2006
Glazed stoneware
3 3/4 × 4 3/4 × 4 1/4 in.
<KATŌ YASUKAGE
Mino ware, Shino type, irregularstraight-sided teabowl
1998
Glazed stoneware
4 1/4 × 5 in.
<KATŌ YASUKAGE
Mino ware, Yellow and Black Seto type,teabowl with straw burn marks on
unglazed clay
ca. 2010
Glazed stoneware
3 3/8 × 4 1/2 × 4 1/4 in.

35

KITAŌJI ROSANJIN
Mino ware, Yellow Seto (ki-seto) type (fired to a pale bluish gray)tsubō -shaped vase with copper-underglaze splashed patterning, 1950
Glazed stoneware, 9 × 9 1/4 in.

36

Biographies

37

ARAKAWA TOYOZŌ ( 1894–1985)
As both a scholar and potter, Arakawa
Toyozō left a profound mark on the worldof ceramics in numerous ways. First
pursuing painting, he began to study
ceramics in 1922. While apprenticing
with the celebrated, irascible ceramist
Kitaōji Rosanjin (1883–1959), Arakawa
discovered the ancient kiln sites at Minothat allowed him to redefine the origins
of Momoyama tea ceremony wares.
Most importantly, through this discovery,
Arakawa successfully replicated the Shinoand Oribe glazing techniques of the 16th
century, becoming the first modern potter
to do so. His work and research earned him
in 1955 the designation of Living National
Treasure for Shino ware, the first to be sorecognized.

HAYASHI SHŌTARŌ (b. 1947)
Born into a family of potters, Hayashi
Shōtarō developed his own approach to
traditional Shino ware. In researching
this process, he explored methods ofcontrolling the unpredictable “flame
patterning” that appears on the surfaceof fired works when using iron either
in the clay or the glaze. Additionally,
he established several kilns for testing
numerous clay types and glazes under avariety of firing and cooling processes.
His experimentation, spanning decades,
has resulted in work covered in thick,unctuous, creamy, multi-hued glaze on areddish ground. The strong potting anddynamic, rough surfaces of his largely
functional works provide balance for his
powerful, creative reinterpretation of
centuries-old glazes.

KANESHIGE TŌYŌ (1896–1967)
One of the most important ceramic artistsof the 20th century, Kaneshige Tōyō was
the first Bizen potter to be designated a
Living National Treasure in 1956. He was
not only a master ceramist, but also a
prominent teacher and mentor, producing
many disciples including those who laterthemselves became Living National

38

Treasures. Today, hundreds of potters
follow his footsteps in Bizen. He was oneof the regional potters who became an
integral part of the "Momoyama revival
movement" and strove to rediscover
the ancient techniques used—of clay
preparation, kiln building, kiln loading,and firing—to produce that celebrated,coveted tea ware.

KATŌ HAJIME (1900–1968)
By age fourteen, Katō Hajime began
working as a painter’s apprentice at
Senpōen, a ceramic manufacturing
company, and he later studied design
and painting at the Aichi Prefectural
Ceramic School. In 1926, at the Gifu
Prefectural Institute of Ceramics, hebegan researching ancient Chinese
ceramics and created his own ceramic
artworks, transforming himself fromdesigner to ceramist. From then on,
Katō’s career took off and his ceramics
gained international attention, evenwinning the grand prize at the Paris
Universal Exposition in 1937. The pinnacleof his ceramic career came in 1961,
when he was designated the second
Living National Treasure for polychrome
porcelain, following Tomimoto Kenkichi.

KATŌ YASUKAGE XIV (1964–2012)
Katō Yasukage, who was one of the
top young ceramic talents in Japan,
specialized in the centuries-old traditionsof milky white Shino and green-copper
glazed Oribe wares. Following thesudden deaths of his illustrious father andgrandfather, both renowned ceramists,
the fifteen-year-old Katō was sent by
his family to Bizen for several years to
study ceramics and that region’s firing
techniques. After further academic
training and highly influenced by histime in Bizen, he returned to Gifu andbrought with him a fresh vision to theseclassical approaches. Powerful forms
and exquisite glazes characterize his
masterfully wood-fired sculptural vessels.

KATŌ SHIGETAKA (1927–2013)
Shigetaka was the second son of Katō
Tōkurō (1898–1985), who was one ofJapan’s greatest 20th century masters
but also a controversial figure. Shigetaka,like his elder brother Okabe Mineo(1919–1990), overcame the burden of
having such a renowned father, andbecame a celebrated potter in his own
right, with styles and aesthetics uniquely
his own. Initially, he opposed continuingin his father’s footsteps, but after thelatter’s death, he returned to the world ofclassical ceramics in a style not unlike thatof Tōkurō. Shigetaka won several awards,
including a prestigious award in 1966 fromthe Japan Ceramic Society.

KAWAKITA HANDEISHI (1878–1963)
One of the artists having the largest impact
on the Japanese tea world was Kawakita
Handeishi, a prosperous banker who
held several important financial positions
but who also found time for calligraphy,
painting, poetry, and photography. At
the age of fifty-six, Handeishi turned
exclusively to the world of clay and brought
new life to a then stagnant field withhis non-tradition-based aesthetics. Hisvery personal, charming, and delightful
teabowls and other tea implements
influenced many young ceramists of the
pre-war era who in turn became masters.

KITAŌJI ROSANJIN (1883–1959)
Thought by many to be one of Japan's
greatest ceramists, Kitaōji Rosanjin
mastered an outstanding range of styles,
forms and glazes. He was peerless in
his day, with an astonishing array of
traditional glaze traditions all applied toseemingly effortlessly made, classicallyinspired forms. As both an antiques dealer
and restaurant owner, he profoundly
understood why, through history, certain
vessels and dishes were made the way
they were and equally how the glazes“should” look. To keep up with the demandfor his work, he needed assistants andin 1927 hired the future Living National
Treasure for Shino ware, Arakawa Toyozō.

KOIE RYŌJI (b. 1938)
One of the most versatile and forwardthinking of Japan’s contemporary artists,
Koie Ryōji is best known as a ceramist,
but esteemed for his two-dimensional art
work as well. His love of experimentation
has led to his creation of “ceramic
happenings,” with themes that are socialand often political critiques of the horrorsof the 20th century, such as Nanking,
Auschwitz and Chernobyl. Born in theceramic center of Tokoname, Koie spentover a decade training at local institutes
before opening his own studio. An
extremely popular artist, he is now elderly
and in fragile health, and has ceased
working.

KUMAKURA JUNKICHI (1920–85)
Kumakura Junkichi graduated in 1942
from Kyoto Institute of Technology
as a design major. From 1946 to 1947,
Kumakura, along with Tamura Kōichi,
was an assistant to Tomimoto, when he
was greatly influenced by the master’s
techniques and concept of the role ofceramist-artist. Not long thereafter, hebecame a core member of Sōdeisha.
Unusual for the period, much of his
sculptural work is boldly focused on
sexuality and eroticism. He was awarded
the first Japan Ceramic Society Awardin 1954, and soon thereafter he began
exhibiting in international competitiveshows in Europe, where his work wasawarded major prizes.

OKABE MINEO (1919–90)
Although born into a famous ceramicfamily, Okabe Mineo fought throughout
his youth to avoid a career in the field andhad hoped to one day become a physicist.
However, he was forced to return tothat world after military service in WWII,
whereupon he struggled to survive as
an impoverished potter. Starting in theearly 1950’s, with new bold work inspiredin part by ancient Jōmon vessels butcovered in his uniquely brilliant bluegreen Oribe type glaze, Okabe began
to win prestigious prizes with his highly

original hand-built forms. About ten years
later, he tackled the very difficult doublecrackle celadon glaze with extraordinary
results, making some of the most beautiful
celadons ever created in a wide range ofcolors and textures.

SUZUKI GORŌ (b. 1941)
Suzuki Gorō has revitalized the aesthetics
of classical Oribe ceramics with his
unrivaled inventiveness. His mostgroundbreaking technique, called yobitsugi(patchwork), demonstrates his playful
nature. His aesthetics are traditional, yet
lively and charming, classical yet avantgarde. Through his endless creativity,
Suzuki makes each of his vessels
different and unique, often incorporating
contemporary elements from the world
around him such as light bulbs, cars, andbarking dogs, all of which convey theartist’s sharp comic sensibility and genius
for blending modernity with the traditional
Oribe repertoire of patterns and glazes.

SUZUKI OSAMU (KURA ) (b. 1934)
As the young son of a talented potter,
Suzuki Osamu visited and studied manyof the local ancient kilns in the Mino areaand marveled at the 16th century kilnbuilding, firing, and throwing methods.
Despite the sophistication and brilliance ofthe Momoyama ceramics, Suzuki believes
that he is best able to re-cast his ideas
of contemporary Shino ceramics usinga gas-fired kiln, for which he employs
modern scientific methods. Throughexhaustive experimentation, Suzuki hasdeveloped his unique Shino with notably
thick walls, requiring longer firing andslow cooling periods, endowing his works
with modernity and dynamism not foundelsewhere. For this he was designated in
1994 as the Living National Treasure for
Shino glaze.

TAKAUCHI SHUGŌ (b.1937)
First employed in a design company, in1986 Takauchi Shu--gō was motivatedto change fields and enter the ceramicworld after visiting Mashiko and studying

the vessels of Hamada Shōji. Takauchi
specializes in thickly walled stoneware
vessels adorned with ladle-poured glazes
and contemporary versions of medieval
Japanese Oribe, Shino and ash-glazed
functional vessels. Often extremely
large in scale, his works are, in effect,
sculpture, but with a decided traditional
origin. Takauchi represents one of thoserare artists who can work freely in a wide
range of regional and historical styles.
His work has been featured in exhibitions
around the world over several decades.

WAKAO TOSHISADA (b. 1932)
Specializing in Gray Shino (nezumishino) ware, a type of ceramic glazing
with a long tradition originating in the
Momoyama period (16th century), Wakao
Toshisada chiefly produces tableware,large-scale plates and vases in abstract
forms. The daring sculptural silhouettesof his work contrast with the natural
decorative motifs inspired by rinpa
painting that cover their surfaces. To
achieve such intricate decoration, he first
applies iron slip, followed by scraping,
application of resist, adding layers ofglaze, and then multiple firings. He also
employs neriage technique, a process of
merging different colored clays.

YAGI KAZUO (1918–79)
Yagi was a hugely celebrated artist
in Kyoto and the standard-bearer forcontemporary ceramic art in postwar
Japan. After graduating from thesculpture department of the Kyoto City
University of Arts, he became a student
at the Kyoto Ceramics Research Instituteand in 1946 took part in establishing theYoung Pottery-makers’ Collective, which
was disbanded in mid-1948. Later thatyear, he co-founded the avant-gardegroup Sōdeisha as a vehicle for expanding
the expressive possibilities of clay. With
broad interests in poetry, music andphotography, he inevitably became
Sōdeisha’s spokesman, and focused on
the creation of “objets”—neither puresculpture nor simply vessels.
39

Published in conjunction with the exhibition,“Restraint and Flamboyance, Masterworksof Mino” organized by Joan B Mirviss LTD in
conjunction with Shibuya Kurodatoen Col, LTD .
New York, March–April 2020
Joan B Mirviss LTD
39 East 78 Street
New York, NY 10075
			

COVER

Kawakita Handeishi (see p. 22)
COVER (FRONT INSIDE)

Suzuki Osamu (see p. 27)
Okabe Mineo (see p. 10)
PAGES 8 AND 9

Wakao Toshisada (see p. 32)
Kitaōji Rosanjin (see p. 17)
Arakawa Toyozō (see p. 13)

PHOTOGRAPHY AND PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS

Wikimedia for portrait painting of Tokugawa
Ieyasu in essay by Andrew Maske.
Andrew Maske for image of ki-seto glazed
vessel in his essay.
Metropolitan Museum of Art for images ofshino-glazed, oribe-glazed and seto-glazed
vessels in essay by Andrew Maske.
Richard Goodbody for all other photographyof catalogue entries and group images.
DESIGN

HvADesign, LLC., Brooklyn, NY
PRINT PRODUCTION

Keith Harrington, Phoenix Lithographing
Corporation, Philadelphia, PA
Names are given in Japanese sequencewith family name first.
© 2020 JOAN B MIRVISS LTD

40

BIOGRAPHIES

Kitaōji Rosanjin (see p. 17)
COVER (BACK INSIDE)

Kitaōji Rosanjin (see p. 16)
BACK COVER

Katō Yasukage (see p. 35)

Restraint and Flamboyance
MASTERWORKS OF MINO