Bizen Guinomi (Japanese Ceramic Sake Cup) KT
Bizen Pottery is one of the six famous ancient medieval pottery styles in Japan, including Seto, Tokoname, Tamba, Shigaraki and Echizen. It is also known as "Imbe Pottery" based on the name of the area. Bizen Pottery traces its long history back to Sueki Pottery (earthenware fired with no glaze) in the Tumulus Period. From the Heian Period to the early Kamakura Period, potters started to produce more practical and durable wares for everyday use. This is believed to be the beginning of Bizen Pottery. (continued below...)
Artist: Konishi Tozo (1947- ), son of Konishi Tozo II, studied at the Konishi Tozo kiln (one of the most famous production kilns in Bizen, especially for its smooth clay and solid firings), set up his kiln in 1975, many awards.
Size: Approx. 6cm×5.5cm
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The beauty of Bizen Pottery is in its unadorned simplicity. Its unglazed austere appearance caught the attention and admiration of tea ceremony masters in Sakai and Kyoto. In the Momoyama Period, a number of masterpiece tea bowls were created.
Experiencing hard times ever since, Bizen Pottery has begun a new stage of its development. It produces many art pieces in addition to its practical products. Not a single day has passed without smoke rising from the kilns of Bizen in its thousand year history. Four national treasures have been designated: the late Toyo Kanashige, the late Kei Fujiwara, the late Toshu Yamamoto and Yu Fujiwara. The brownish surface produced by the combination of clay, fire and man is created in a kiln that continues firing for two weeks at a temperature of about 1,300°C. Its mysterious and simple heart-warming elegance retains nature and our minds which have been lost in modern society, and appeals to many people including Bizen enthusiasts overseas. Today the unparalleled long history and tradition of Bizen Pottery, as well as its infinite beauty are firmly inherited by nearly 300 excellent artists and potters who produce numerous great pieces from their kilns in Bizen.