Bizen Guinomi

This is a Bizen sake cup by the visionary artist Juroku Harada, a man described as "frighteningly talented" by Matasaburo Katsura, the great contributor to Bizen pottery, with whom he studied old Bizen. Although titled as a sake cup, its size is comparable to a small tea cup, giving it a remarkably bold and powerful impression. It has been fired with great intensity, displaying layers of scenery: a dark brown, circular "nuke" (uncovered area) on the front, natural black tones from iron exudation, yellow sesame glaze, and slightly bluish "kase" (matte) sesame glaze, with scorched sesame glaze on the back. The large, magnificent form is adjusted to a comfortable thickness and weight, and the rim is beautifully refined with a spatula, allowing one to fully appreciate the veteran potter's technique. Signed wooden box (shiho-san included)
Diameter 7.9cm x Diameter 7.3cm x Height 7.9cm After graduating from Meiji University and working as a salaryman, Juroku Harada began his pottery career in 1969. In 1971, he built an ana-gama kiln, followed by a climbing kiln the next year, and devoted himself fully to the craft. From 1975, under the guidance of old Bizen researcher Matasaburo Katsura, he visited ancient kiln sites to study Bizen ware. In 1991, he built an ana-gama kiln on Mt. Amida in Ushimado. He creates jars, tea ceremony utensils, and leaf-shaped dishes, primarily using the coil-building method, with some use of the potter's wheel. He has held active solo exhibitions in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. In 1983, he held a two-person exhibition at the National Museum of Victoria in Australia with Kenji Funaki of Fushina ware. He received the Japan Ceramic Society Award in 2000. In 2002, his work was exhibited at and acquired by the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, for its opening commemorative exhibition. In 2005, his work was acquired by the New Orleans Museum of Art in the United States.