Bizen ware teacup

This is a Bizen tea cup by the legendary Living National Treasure and great restorer of Bizen ware, Toyo Kaneshige. Among the works of Toyo Kaneshige, this tea cup is a rare, smaller-sized piece. It utilizes *ta-tsuchi* (rice paddy clay) from his later years, which produces a refreshing, pale-hued aesthetic; the white-toned clay body transitions into a caramel-colored gradient, evoking the profound, subtle beauty characteristic of Bizen ware. Fine *goma* (ash glaze) is scattered across the surface, skillfully forming a natural landscape, with well-melted yellow *goma* on the front and fine, dry "scattered *goma*" in the interior, both adding a decorative touch to the earth-toned body. The wide, gently curved crescent-shaped foot—a hallmark of Toyo Kaneshige’s style—conveys a calm atmosphere that reflects the artist’s earnest craftsmanship. Box identified by Kosuke (with a sliding lid and cross-braced corner joints)
Diameter 6.7cm × Diameter 6.7cm × Height 7.8cm Toyo Kaneshige (1896–1967, born in Inbe, Bizen City) was born the eldest son of Baiyo Kaneshige, from a branch of the Kaneshige family, one of the six traditional Bizen pottery lineages. He studied under his father and first gained fame for his handcrafted *hohin* teapots. From the Taisho period through the early Showa period, he conducted extensive research and succeeded in recreating the clay texture of Momoyama-period Bizen ware; around that time, he began using a potter’s wheel and dedicated himself to creating tea ceremony ceramics. He deepened his friendships with Handeishi Kawakita, Toyozo Arakawa, and Kyusetsu Miwa, and after the war, he expanded his artistic range under the influence of Rosanjin Kitaoji and Isamu Noguchi. For these achievements, he is known as the restorer of Bizen ware. He was the first Bizen artist to be designated a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property, and in 1964 and 1966, he was invited as a summer lecturer at the University of Hawaii. In 1967, he performed a pottery demonstration before Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun during their visit to Bizen.
Major Awards: Chugoku Culture Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Prefecture Culture Award, Medal with Purple Ribbon, Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette.