Bizen Guinomi

This is a Bizen sake cup by the master craftsman Mitsuru Isezaki, a man who loved Bizen ware and made immense contributions to the Bizen region. True to his belief that the essence of Bizen ware lies in the quality of its clay—a belief that led him to insist on using high-quality rice paddy soil—the piece appears very rustic at first glance. However, take a closer look and you will discover rich, viscous shiso-purple and orange hues, with a delicate gilding that further enhances the magnificent texture of the clay. The simple "goma" (sesame glaze) and "sangiri" (fire-scorched) effects are incredibly refined, creating an aesthetic that follows the royal road of Bizen pottery. While the form of the cup itself is simple, it has been pressed on three sides by the artist's fingers to create a deformed shape, which provides both a comfortable grip and a sculptural accent. Original signed wooden box (shiho-zan style)
Diameter 7.0cm x 6.8cm x Height 4.8cm Mitsuru Isezaki was born in 1934 as the eldest son of the designated intangible cultural property holder Yozan Isezaki. He learned pottery techniques from his father from a young age and later majored in sculpture at the Okayama University special art course. As an authentic practitioner of tea ceramics, he pursued the aesthetics, clay quality, and firing techniques of the Momoyama period. Depending on the piece, he alternated between traditional climbing kilns and medieval-style tunnel kilns, strictly avoiding electric or gas kilns in favor of firing with pine wood. He became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Toyo Kaneshige Memorial Prize in 1974. In 1994, he was awarded the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Merit Award, and in 1998, he received the 15th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize. In March of that same year, he was designated as a Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property holder. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 77.
Awards: Toyo Kaneshige Memorial Prize, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Merit Award, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition, and many others / Invited contributor to prefectural exhibitions