Bizen Tokkuri

This Bizen sake bottle is a previous work by Izuru Yamamoto, an artist who utilizes his background in sculpture to pursue a new sense of formative beauty within a traditional style. Fired to the absolute limits of Bizen clay, this piece features rare aesthetics, such as an ash-covered kiln transformation that has shifted from the usual dark, somber tones to a bright gray. The *nuke* (uncovered areas) also exhibit dramatic changes from intense flames; it appears that straw was placed on the piece before it was covered with fire clay, but the intense firing created a powerful reduction effect inside the *nuke*, resulting in intriguing hues reminiscent of gold-infused or blue Bizen ware. Despite being fired to a rugged, "gari-gari" finish, the piece has a well-balanced weight, a testament to the precision of Yamamoto's wheel-throwing technique. Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Rim 3.6cm x Body 8.7cm x Diameter 8.5cm x Height 13.4cm; Capacity approx. 360cc Izuru Yamamoto is the fourth son of Living National Treasure Toshu Yamamoto. After graduating from the Department of Sculpture at Musashino Art University in 1967 and completing the postgraduate program the following year, he studied sculpture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris for two years. Upon returning to Japan in 1970, he apprenticed under his father and began his career in ceramics, eventually building his own kiln and becoming independent in 1975. He creates works utilizing techniques he developed himself, such as *tatakikomi* (beating), *shussai* (an original glazing style), and *tsumiage* (a stacking technique using clay slabs). He became a regular member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1979. He received an Encouragement Award at the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition in 1980 and the Kaneshige Toyo Prize in 1985. In 1997, he received the Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award and exhibited at the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition. In 2002, he won the Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition for his *tsumiage* flower vase, which incorporated clay from Burgundy, France. In 2012, he was designated as a Holder of Okayama Prefecture Important Intangible Cultural Property.