I started out thinking I was going to do an article about Kawauso Pottery(aka Roy Minarai on Facebook), but the interview stands well on its own. So, here it is in its entirety, along with a selection of Roy’s containers.
I think we can expect (even more) wonderful things from Kawauso Pottery in the coming years; with only a short time under his belt, Roy is already producing some of the best and most complex glazes I’ve seen in the West.  I own several of them myself, so am one of the few who has had the opportunity to examine them first hand, and they are as excellent in person as they are in photographs.  His truly unique glazes will certainly be collectible in time.  Head over to his page and give him a like on Facebook with this link: Kawauso Pottery.  And keep your eyes peeled: Roy’s containers will be available for sale to the public soon!

JBP:How old are you?

RG: “37”

 JBP:Where are you From?

RG:“Glamorous Lake Worth, Florida.”
   

 JBP:Where are you currently located?

RG:“Greenville, South Carolina.”

  JBP:What got you into bonsai?

RG:“What got me interested to begin with was visiting two places as a kid- the Morikami Museum and Gardens and the Mounts Botanical Garden. There I saw bonsai trees for the very first time and fell in love. I was so intrigued and captivated by those little trees. I could sit and look at them for hours. I recently went back with my wife Patti and explored the Morikami, and it was still amazing!”

  JBP:How long have you been into bonsai?

RG:“With that said it was many many years before I actually got any bonsai of my own. I had always admired and checked them out whenever I had the opportunity, but it wasn’t until 2013 when my wife encouraged me to get one, that I got my first, a trident. Then I got another, and another and you know how that goes…”

  JBP:Are you still doing bonsai, or has pottery taken over?

RG:” I still have some trees. I can say that I enjoy the pottery aspect of bonsai more than the trees at this point. Maybe it’s the result of pottery consuming my time, or just the natural evolution of things, but I find myself giving away a lot of trees and focusing on a few, mainly maples and crabapples.”

  JBP:How long have you been doing pottery?

RG:“Ummm. Haha. I feel like answering that question might change the way people look at my pots… A long time. Like 8-10……months.” (Editors Note: it certainly does change the way I look at Roy’s pots: they’re far far more impressive in the light of his rookie status!)

  JBP:What got you started in pottery?

RG:“I’m not sure. It would be cool if I had this experience that inspired and launched me into it right? But the truth is I remembered enjoying making a coil pot in grade school, and when I saw the amazing things people were doing with bonsai pots, I thought I’d give it a try. I have always thought I wasn’t artistic or creative. I’m good with words but nothing tangible or functional. Until pottery. Something clicked while doing my first pot in a friends garage, and I discovered something I never knew was there”

  JBP:What bonsai potters or artists have influenced you, Japanese or American?

RG:“That’s like asking a musician what bands inspire him, it would be cool if I could throw out obscure names that no ones heard of, but I’m not that cool. Bunzan, Bushuan, Eimei, Tom Benda, Andrew Pearson, Jurgen Robyns, Horst, Sonny and Stephanie Walker, to name a few… Also Bjorn Bjorholm- yeah he’s not a potter but the dude is so good at what he does and has so much fun doing it (just watch the YouTube series he does). It’s inspiring to see someone operate at that high of a level consistently, and still have as much fun as he does… and a guy named MRB. People like him that are so stoked -and knowledgable about the pottery side of bonsai really encourage me!”

  JBP:What are your upcoming plans? Show events? Website sales? Conventions?

RG:“Yes. Haha. I don’t know bro, I don’t have anything planned besides to start selling some pots on my Facebook page Kawauso Pottery and maybe a few auction pages… I’d love to do some shows, but without a name I’m not sure who would have me…”(Editors Note: You hear that Show Chairmen?  Here’s a vendor you need to invite to the next party!)

  JBP:How are your containers made?

RG:” I make them all by hand, slab building and carving. It’s a slow process with no wheel or molds, but it’s what I enjoy. For me the process of slowing down and being completely present is one of the things I enjoy most. The more I build pots the less tools I find myself using. Lately I use a few pieces of wood and my hands for almost everything.”

  JBP:What styles really intrigue you?

RG:“Right now I’m so new to all this that everything intrigues me. Seriously, I’m like a kid that just discovered Toy R Us for the first time! I find a new favorite pot everyday. Color has become a borderline obsession though. I mean, I like a nice unglazed Yamaaki or Bigei as much as the next guy, but what really intrigues me are glazes that look like they need batteries. That, and runs and drips. I’ve been working a lot on developing consistent drips and runs.”

  JBP:What styles or features do you not like?

RG:“I’m not a huge fan of rounds. (Ducking as I say it) It’s not that I dislike them really, but they just don’t really catch my eye very often…”

  JBP:Where do you envision your production levels?

RG:” If the past is any predictor of future production- a handful of pots every few weeks. Most of my pots are fired twice for the glaze to look right, so that slows production quite a bit, but I like the results! I don’t have plans of ever producing a lot of pots, I never want to take shortcuts or compromise. Not that you have to produce a lot, but I would have to, because my time is limited.”

  JBP:Where do you see bonsai now, as a movement? Do you think tastes are changing?  

RG:“I think that we are at the beginning stages of bonsai really exploding in the States which is exciting because of what that will bring about. It is established well in many European countries, and the trees and pottery coming from there are remarkable. I am really excited at the future of bonsai in the U.S. I know we are behind many places. I know that we don’t have the rich tradition of some places, but- we are growing. We are exploring. We are innovating. Some are exploring and embracing species unique to our country, while still others are growing traditional species strictly for bonsai, which will pay huge dividends!”

  JBP: I very much agree. Do you feel knowledge of pottery is essential to bonsai art? Or is it just the old “frame analogy”: find something that looks good and it’s ok?

RG:“I think that you can always just find a pot that looks good, but the greater your knowledge of pottery the easier time you will have. The more you know, the less ‘bro that’s a nice tree but what’s up with that pot?’ comments you’ll probably hear.” 

  JBP:What considerations do you feel are most important when choosing containers to match bonsai? 

RG:“Learn the “rules” (unglazed for conifers, masculine/feminine etc…) there are certain guidelines that just make sense and make a good looking display. With that said, I think it has to be something you like. You can get a pot that people say is perfect, but if you don’t like it, it’ll bug you every time you see it on your bench. I’ve done that sorta. I’ve made stepped feet on rectangles and just didn’t like them. Every time I looked at them I hated them, so I cut them off. I know they are “right” in theory, and with time my taste may change- but for me, right now, they’re not.”

  JBP:How about collecting containers? Is there a difference?
RG:“I don’t think so. I think that above all a bonsai container is just that- a bonsai container. Some may be so dope that you don’t want to fill them with soil and get them dirty and that’s cool, but they should be capable and functional. I love the idea of people collecting and appreciating pottery on its own, but I hope pots aren’t being made as non-functional collector pieces. Like in the mind of the artist, hopefully the thought process isn’t ‘this thing is useless for bonsai but it looks great.'”

  JBP:Now for the fun existential questions! Bonsai to many people is little more than a hobby, and something they do to relax…but a higher level of bonsai, as art, exists, and it seems to fight with the hobbiest level often. What do you think we can do to change this? Get the community together as a whole?
RG:“I think to an extent the divide will always be there. The amount of time, money, and knowledge people possess will naturally create gaps. Some of those can be overcome with patience and skill, but of the three, knowledge could be the most easily remedied. I think that the more we see people joining clubs, (which means clubs worth joining need to be established where they aren’t) getting good advice on forums and FB pages, and being exposed to proper bonsai, the faster we will close the gap. This means that those with the knowledge have a responsibility to pass it on as much as possible. Give constructive feedback rather than a condescending comment. Point people in the right direction, rather than just point out the direction they are headed is wrong. 
When people see good bonsai, and what is possible with patience, proper technique, and good starter material, they are less likely to over pay for that mallsai, with those awesome stones glued to the surface… ”

  JBP:For the longest time in American Bonsai, trees all seemed to look alike, and were mostly copies of Japanese standards, or by the rules pine styles. This has changed drastically, and with these newer and more complex bonsai that often come from Yamadori, we’re seeing new and complex containers, and glazes like your own, to match. The old rule was to downplay the container, how do you think the complex glazes you’re producing will work with trees?
RG:“I think my more dynamic glazes will certainly work well with the right trees. I think as there is a greater appreciation of containers and the art of pottery you may see people going away a little bit (just a little, put the pitchforks away, lol) from the idea of downplaying. Obviously no one is going to put a Yamadori Douglas Fir in a pot like most that are pictured, but I think they will work with a lot of deciduous and flowering species. I really think that a naked, heavily ramified gnarly deciduous hornbeam in a dynamic glazed drippy container would look great.”
  JBP:What would you personally like to see change in American Bonsai and container appreciation? Where do you see your art playing a role in our evolution?
RG:“I would love to see the enthusiasm for pottery continue to grow, and specifically to see American bonsai potted in American containers. Like the Artisans Cup or Nationals for example, I would be thrilled if the winning trees were mostly in American containers, but I am betting most won’t be. I know that age and patina play a part in that but I also think that right now, when people think of a show pot, most think Japanese or antique Chinese. I get it- they are stunning, but I also think that there’s some pretty amazing American pottery available. Hopefully the trend will be towards domestic pottery being at least an option. I don’t think we will ever go away from heavily using Eastern pottery, but wouldn’t it be cool if American pottery could be well represented at major shows!? 

As far as my part? I’m just a guy that has never had a teacher (besides a few tips via email from guys like Tom, Horst, Andrew, Sonny and Jurgen), never took a class, and who doesn’t know “the rules”. I just make pots that I like. If my wife likes it (she’s my toughest critic and biggest encourager) I’m stoked, if bonsai enthusiasts like them, I’m super humbled. I think those pots that are like woah are worth the ones that fall flat. I don’t mind giving pots to friends that put succulents or herbs in them, if the bonsai community deems them “unfit”.

Maybe in some small way the risks I take will help push the envelope a little and broaden the horizon for other potters now or those coming.  Maybe someone that never cared about pots beyond utilitarian use will see something that really stirs them and change the way they think a little… Maybe… Or, maybe one day I’ll toe the line, settle down and start cranking out plain blue pots and stop being so outlandish… But I wouldn’t count on that.”

   
    
 I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the incredible works being produced at Kawauso pottery.  Many thanks to Roy for taking the time to chat.

Thanks for reading!

Ino Shukuho is a legacy of 3 generations of potters, each with different styles and techniques.  The current Shukuho, Ino Yoshiki, was born in 1943.  His father, Ino Kiichiro, was a purveyor for the Imperial Houshokd, and was close friends with Heian Tofukuji; many of Tofukuji’s greatest later works were fired in the Shukuho kiln.  Shukuho has won numerous prizes and awards, and his containers are some of the most popular for Shohin bonsai in Japan.  The vast majority are carved from a single block of Kyoto clay, leaving production levels very low due to the labor intensive nature of the method.

Many works were commissioned bY Takeyama San of Fuyo En, who was a driving force behind some of the kiln’s later designs.  It’s said that 3rd Generation Shukuho’s Oribe Glaze is virtually identical to Tofukuji’s.  

Now on to the pots!

A fairly typical example of Shukuho Oribe glaze.  The light tan colored Kyoto clay body really helps the greens and blues shine.

Another Oribe, this one showing quite a bit more blue streaking over the green. 
Really fantastic rectangle with a metallic cream and greenish red glaze.  

Standard rectangle Oribe with cut feet, showing a significant amount of crystal formation.    

A really unique hand formed piece with a met takin silverish glaze.
  

Rare mokko shape in a darker green with crystals.  
Lovely oval in light blue and green.    
  

A rare and exceptional Suiban in Oribe green with blue touches.  

A light blue rectangle with cut corners and speckling. 
  

A really six-sided cascade in Oribe green with crystals.  

Nanban style Oribe.
  

A rarer style rectangle in Oribe with cut corners and great crystal speckling.  

For comparison, a world class Tofukuji Oribe in a similar shape and glaze.
  
A great rectangle with cut corners, lip, and cloud feet in an excellent Canton style ruri indigo blue. 

Oval Oribe showing significant blue highlights.  Lovely glaze.

An interesting Oribe blue with some texture under the glaze. 

A much rarer relief carved celadon porcelain six sided container.  Excellent relief work and beautiful celadon porcelain.
    
While these traditional Kyo-style overgraze enameled and painted pieces are more typical of first and second generation Shukuho works, some exist from third generation as well.  

And We’ll finish up here….with this Satsuki at the top left, Kokufu Sho Prize winner, in a Shukuho container.

That’s one sweet Satsuki!  And the Shukuho matches it perfectly.   

Wow.  That’s nebari.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Shukuho bonsai containers.  Thanks for reading!

Shigeru Fukuda is one of my favorite contemporary Japanese potters, and has been featured numerous times on the blog. 

For previous posts, click here: Bushuan Posts. 

He is quite famous in Japan, although not because of bonsai and pottery.  He’s something akin to the Japanese Dale Earnhart, as he’s the winningest Japanese auto racer in history, with more than 60 wins.  He currently owns the Kawaguichi Auto Racing track in Saitama.  

Insofar as hispottery is concerned, it’s said that’s he’s the “reincarnation of Heian Tofukuji”, for his diversity of form, unique glazes, and exceptional depth.

  Here, Kunio Kobayashi prepares a stone display at Shunkaen with Bushuan Suiban.  That’s Fukuda Shigeru to the left.  

Now, on to the pots!

     Multiple Views of an outstanding crackle yellow glazed Tetsu Gakken style rectangle with painted and carved bamboo and tiger.  Simply gorgeous.          A spectacular rectangle with multiple color glazes.  A riot of beatiful glazes.  Truly unique style and execution.    A more muted Multi color glazed square in earth tones with just a hint of blue.   

   One from my collection.  A really nice yellow glazed rectangle with significant crystal formation.  This container is difficult to photograph.  The amount and complexity of the crystals is outstanding.

    An outstanding round with full cloud feet and darker multicolor glaze.  Complex and beautiful.    A tall jingasa(hat shape) with running green glaze.    Bushuan Oribe, with his characteristic heavy notes of blue cobalt.  Another Oribe, in round bag shape.  Showing less blue and more of a multi color effect.   A really lovely shinsa red, in a classical oval with terraced feet.    Just too much say here…..the spiral fluting makes this piece and it’s glaze wild.  Breathtaking.      Another Oribeish glaze.  This one showing some great crystal structures around the rim.  The center braid really sets this piece off.Another really exceptional drippy red, with notes of pinks….good lord that’s a lot of different reds.  I’ve seen a couple of these highly textured glazed rounds.  Now this is a use of texture I can totally back.Another from my collection, green Oribe with cloud feet and a lovely crackle.    A last from my own hoard: a really lovely rich blue over Oribe.  This is a tiny piece at 3″ but guaranteed to be a show stopper nonetheless…. 

Wow……nuff said.
Another painted and carved piece, this is an exceptional Oribe rectangle on multiple levels.          And we’ll finish up with this streaky blue rectangle…..crackle, drippy blue-green glaze, bottom glaze, carved handles…..this has it all; a true masterpiece in every sense.

Hope you’ve enjoyed another look at the pottery of Shigeru Fukuda, Thanks For Reading!

This will be the third installment of posts on the great contemporary potter and painter Shunka Seizan, who has recently won several awards and continues to amaze me with his diverse talents.  From post 1:

“His real name is “河村 政春” “Kawamura Seishun”. A veteran of more than 40 years as a bonsai grower, enthusiast, and lover, he is especially known for his maples. Shozan began making pots as a hobby 6 years ago. The works are all single block carved, and feature some of the best glazes I’ve seen from any modern potter, both in kiln change type glazes and clean, pure colors. Most of his glazes are kiln change type, in the best Japanese tradition of Tofukuji.”

To see more on this potter, check out these previous articles: 

Shunka Seizan 1
Pots in Process
Shunka Seizan Painted Pots
Now…..on to the pots!

  A Really complex Takatori Yu style glaze on a mokko pot.  Shunka Seizan’s Takatori Yu is the best Ive seen from any contemporary potter, the only that perhaps come close to Tofukuji.  An interesting dark Tenmokuu with a lighter secondary glaze.  Real depth in the darkness.        Multiple views of a green mokko with several different color accents.  Really nice crackle to the glaze also.  Man…..that is PINK!  Another pink pot with a splash of orange.  Russell?Brilliant yellow Footed and flared oval.  Seizan’s yellows are some of the best and cleanest.  Two tone cream rectangle with bottom belt and lip.  Really nice depth for a single color glaze can be achieved with more than one firing.  Remember that pink?  Wow….that’s RED!  Seizan’s reds are some of the cleanest and brightest I have seen.    A flambé glaze square from my collection.  Really nice two tone red and cream. A really great light green glazed six sided pot.  A little darker than celadon, I haven’t seen this color from any other artist.  Ikkou’s greens come close, but it’s a hair darker.

Painted Pots

Seizan has been painting containers for a very short amount of time.  That makes it all the more impressive that these are so nice.  You’ll note that all the paintings are homages: like most Japanese artists, of any form, Seizan is learning to paint by copying great and famous works from history and scrolls.   A scene from the anthropomorphic Chojugiga scrolls.       More Chojugiga.  These are classical and whimsical subjects for bonsai containers.

And Then there are These…..these are available if anyone is interested, feel free to drop me a line.  The full 55 container set is available piecemeal….hurry though I doubt they’ll be available for long!    

This is a small selection of the full set of Ando Hiroshige’s famous “53 Stations of the Tokaido Road”, with the corresponding woodblock prints of the original.  All of the greatest painters and carvers have done versions of the “Stations”, including Sano Daisuke, Bigei, Chazan, Tosui, Shousen, and Tsukinowa Yusen.

Seizan’s versions are incredibly detailed for such small Shohin containers, and stand up well to the originals.  The yellow glaze and nicely done inset panels really set them off.  Really excellent work.  Hurry!

Hope you’ve enjoyed another look at Shunka Seizan!  Thanks for reading!

After a long summer and fall hiatus while I’ve been actually DOING bonsai, I’m back this week with the first of several articles to be published before the end of the year.  Thanks for being patient and sticking around!

Third Generation Inoue Ryosai(Inoue Ryotaro) was born September 4, 1888 in Asakusa, Tokyo, to the eldest son of the founder of the kiln.  The kiln was originally founded in the Edo period, and the family is descended from a long line of potters in the Owari/Seto clan.

He began his study of ceramics at the age of 17, and studied under “the father of modern Japanese ceramics”, Itaya Hazan.  In 1914, he inherited the family kiln and name, and moved to Yokohama, and built a new kiln.  The kiln was destroyed in 1923 in the Great Kanto earthquake, and he constructed a new, larger noborigama(climbing kiln) that still stands today, almost 11 meters tall.  It is “a mere 10 minute bike ride” from the kiln of another of the all time greats of Japanese Ceramics, Makuzu Kozan.

Ryosai specialized in export pottery for the high class Chinese and European markets, so pieces(like bonsai containers) for the Japanese market are exceedingly rare and culturally precious.  Ryosai won a host of prizes and awards in his lifetime, including the Emperors Prize in 1928, admission to the Japanese Acadamy of Fine Arts, and the rare designation as a living Cultural Treasure.  

His pieces are varied in style, and run the gamut from Unglazed to Glazed, to painted, carved and even enameled.  Truly an exceptional talent in all forms of ceramic art.

He passed away February 6, 1971. 

  A really fantastically glazed rectangle with cut feet and white clay.  One of the few I’ve ever seen up for sale.  Another wonderful glazed piece.  Very contemporary in both style and glaze, this is what makes the truly great artists: timelessness.    Another glazed piece, this one a soft mokko Showing an excellent patina.    It wouldn’t be fare to show Ryosai’s work without a few Non-bonsai related items.  A love crackle with just a splash of color.  A really striking kinyo oval.  Note the full coverage of the feet and the total lack of patina.  Truly a valuable item.  One of Ryosai’s painted sometsuke pieces. Taken from the blog of Haruyoshi San.  Charming and whimsical.

    A famous and outstanding overglaze enameled piece in black, red, and gold.  The detail is stunning.  Absolutely breathtaking piece.
  Another of Ryosai’s non-bonsai pieces.  Had to include this one, for the striking carving.  A glazed rectangle in a striped and rich green.  Great depth to the glaze.

An unglazed oval.  The clay color, patina, and form are striking.    One of Ryosai’s specialties was Flambé glaze, also known as Oribe red or copper red.  Under certain conditions(oxidation at 1220C) Oribe glazed are green, under others, they’re red.  The level of red in this woven glaze is simply outstanding.
  A six sided pot with a soba noodle glaze.  Great depth and fantastic, uniform fine oil droplets.

  Another painter container, this one painted with a rustic geometric band.  Charming and whimsical.
  Another Flambé glazed piece, in an antique mirror shape.  There’s just not much to say here.  It’s breathtaking.  Masterpiece. 

 A rich and deep green glazed rectangle with lip and bottom band.  Marvelous patina.  Simple, classical, lovely.

 A painted cascade container in cobalt-blue showing some fancy feet and wonderful patina.  Last up for the flambé/Oribe-red containers, is this matched set of cut foot squares with lip.  Simply outstanding.  No potter I’m aware of does copper reds quite as well as Ryosai(Imaoka does a pretty good version though).

  A simple and elegant celadon crackle in antique mirror shape.  

Six sided container with triangle feet in classical Oribe with painted horse.  Elegant.   Another painted container, in sometsuke.  A simple landscape and charming painting.

  And we’ll finish up our look at Inoue Ryosai with this fantastic mokko in Kouka-Yu(peach glaze).  Lovely, uniform color, striking in its simplicity and perfect form.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the masterpiece containers of Inoue Ryosai.

Stay tuned, I have several more articles coming up on the horizon, including a Co-op article with Heike Van Gunst of Germany (who is also translating my articles to German for Peter Krebs’ Bonsaipots.net site) on Ishida and Yuuki Shoseki, several articles in series on antique Chinese glazes and clay types, and more!

Thanks for reading!

With Heike Van Gunst

Shosekis! (Part 3 of the Bang for your Buck series)

Ishida Shoseki

Ishida Shoseki was born in 1925, but didn’t start to create bonsai containers until 1969.  At the age of 50, she first trained under a professional potter, at wheel throwing,  under Bunsho, in Imari, and subsequently went on to study painting under Miyazaki Tosato.

Her style combines the best of classical Imari style figure painting and geometrics with a distinctly feminine touch.  She passed away in 2005, at the height of her popularity amoung Shohin enthusiasts.  

  An oval porcelain pot painted with landscape motifs in blue and green.
  An excellent figurative Geometric dragon.  A round piece with highly detailed geometrics and cloud panel landscape.  A hexagonal porcelain pot with landscape motifs and geometric patterns. On the feet of the pot there are painted flowers.  A round pot painted in blue. Two pines stand on a cliff above the sea. Below the cliff thow little boats are sailing along. In the background there are rocky islands.  Frogs like those painted on this round porcelain pot are a motif that Ishida Shoseki has used quite often, from the Chojugiga.  A rectangular porcelain pot with landscape paintings and geometrics.  The landscape motifs in the fan-shaped picture frames are painted in five colours.  Photo courtesy Yorozuen

Children motifs are popular with both Shosekis.

 A colourful flower pattern is painted on this round mame pot.  

A porcelain unpainted container with cut feet and lip.   

Blue glazed taiko(drum) with double bands of rivets.  Figurative parrot and palm tree.   

A landscape with hares is painted with black glaze colour on the light blue glazed porcelain pot.  The painting is by Daisuke Sano, the pot by Shoseki.  There is a frog motif on the other side of the pot.  Chop mark of Ishida Shoseki, signature of Sano, later edition signature.     A cascade pot with blue landscape painting. The composition and the use of free space is as remarkable as the vivid expression of the motif.

Yuki Shoseki

She was born in Tokyo in 1948, and in 1988 began her apprenticeship under Ishida Shoseki, after marrying her eldest son.  In 2005, she inherited the Shoseki name becoming the second generation Shoseki.  

Like her mother-in-law, and teacher, she is excellent with figure paintings, Imari style geometrics, and landscapes.   

  9 containers by Yuki in a variety of styles, showing the diversity of this artist.  Photo courtesy of German Gomez Soler.

  Rectangle with akae geometrics and landscape panel.
  Sometsuke geometrics.  Chojugiga.
  Soft rectangle with landscape.  Frolicking child in red.
  5 color children surrounded by Sometsuke geometrics.  Dragon and geometric details.
  Interesting rope border fan panel landscape and geometrics.  Landscape panel and geometrics.
  5 color Landscape hut on round.  Cricket panel and geometrics.
  An impressively detailed panel landscape and geometrics.  Frolicking children in 5 color.
 A cooperative effort from Yuki Shoseki and Shibakatsu.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the painted containers of Ishida and Yuki Shoseki.  

Take a minute and check out Heike Van Gunst’s excellent sister article to this one, at 
Bonsaipots.net, Shosekis

Stay tuned, plenty of great articles coming out soon!   Thanks for reading!

Dating to the Kowatari era, Namako(Nuh-mah-ko), or Sea Cucumber glaze, is one of many Classical Glazes still in use today.  Along with Kinyo(baby blue), Ki(Yellow), Tenmoku, and various Canton glazes, Namako is one of those glazes every Contemporary Japanese artist has their own version and spin on.  

Namako has many characteristics of Chun Blue glazes(thanks Steve) another Classical Chinese glaze that saw its peak in the 11-15th centuries.  Namako is characteristically dark blue, with notes of browns and white flecks.  Unlike Kinyo and other blue glazes, Namako gets its blue coloration from “spherules of immiscible glass floating in the larger glass matrix. These are of the appropriate size to scatter blue light and not other wavelengths thus making the glaze appear blue to your eye.” Traditional Namako includes things like Bone Ash(Calcium Phosphate) Rice-Straw ash, and Feldspar.  The white pattern in the blue is often “Hare’s Fur”, common to Tenmoku and Namako.

           Sea Cucumber or Sea Slug….you can see where the name comes from!

Today we’ll take a look at the many and varied faces of Namako, both from antiquity and the modern era.  

Now, on to the pots!  

Antique Chinese Namako

   Classical Jingasa(Old Hat) shape with Namako.  Like many Namako glazes, the white mottling is night-sky-like and shows great depth.

  A typical Namako glazed rectangle, showing brown at the corners and angles.  Generally, the darker the clay, the more blue will show, and the lighter, less.Brown Namako oval.  The blue shows in the bottom of the glaze.  
  Round Namako with lip, showing significant white.  A subtle Namako rectangle.
  Darker Namako oval with a good balance of white and blue.  A really excellent Namako with soft inner lip(Uchi Buchi, how fun is that to say?) and great depth.
  Another Brown Namako.  This is an excellent example of why it is often difficult to date Namako, as patina is difficult to see.

 Nakawatari Namako from Yixing.  Deep, rich blue and brown at the angles.  Namako round showing the desirable Hare’s Fur pattern.  The quintessential Hare’s Fur pattern.  Namako over Tenmoku.

  Namako lipped rectangle.  Deep blue with brown at the angles and very light white accents.

  Kowatari Canton Namako.  Canton Namako is quite rare, and shows more whites and brighter blues, along with a different type of pattern.
  Another Kowatari Canton Namako.  The brighter blues and difference In pattern can clearly be seen on this suiban.

Japanese Namako

While old Chinese Namako was very much shibui(complex but simple and subtle), contemporary Japanese Namako often tends towards hade(indulgently complex, wild).

Heian  Kouzan, Later edition Namako Rectangle with double incised corners.

 Harumatsu Namako Suiban.

Suishoen, Tokoname.  Namako soft cornered Rectangle. 
  Youzan, Tokoname.  Significant whites and running hare’s fur make Youzan Namako quite unique.Hidemi Shuhou, Tokoname.  Brighter blues and running whites are more typical of contemporary Japanese Namako.  

  Aiba Kouyou.  Crazy Namako.    Bushuan.  Unlike classical Namako, which is a single glaze, many contemporary artists use multiple glazes for a Namako effect.  Taisho Bachi, Japanese Namako(1911-1926).  Most Taisho era Japanese bonsai containers are copies of Antique Chinese glazes, and Namako are common.  They never show the same level of depth as Antique Chinese Namako.

  Aiba Kouyou, Tokoname.  Koyo has 3 versions of Namako, this is my favorite of the three. Reihou, Tokoname.  A very classical style Namako, suiting Reiho’s classical style.  Reihou, Tokoname.  Another very Classical style Namako.
 Double Glazed, Namako over Oribe from Gyoumu.  Contemporary artists frequently layer Namako over other glazes, Tenmoku being the most common.

  As Classical bonsai pottery becomes better known in the west, more artists are using these glazes.  Here is a really nice Namako from Roy Minarai of South Carolina.
 Another excellent Namako style glaze from American Stephanie Walker, showing great depth and some sweet foot drips. 

 American Namako from Tyler Johnson, showing significant running and excellent depth.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at classical and contemporary Namako!

  I hope to see everyone this coming September in Rochester, where I will be giving two lectures on Bonsai Containers.  It’s an honor to be invited, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!
Thanks for reading! 

Every year I look forward to Gafu Ten and the results of the big pottery competition and exhibition that is held there each year.  For articles on the previous exhibitions, click the over to the Table of Contents page under the menu bar.

Lots to talk about from this year’s exhibition, with many images, so I’ll be separating it into two posts.  First up, the winners, and the entries from last year’s gold medalists.

   
 Overviews of the exhibition.

Now, on to the pots!

Unglazed Containers

   The Gold medalists for the previous year aren’t eligible for prizes(nor are those who have won top honors more than a couple of times), but they are always invited to display in the following year. This was the entry from British Potter Andrew Pearson, of Stone Monkey Ceramics, who took gold last year. This year’s entry features real silver rivets. I was quite impressed with them. Very Classical but also very innovative. Extraordinarily clean lines, reminiscent of “The Razor” Heian Kouzan. Well done Andy. 
  Gold medal in the unglazed category went to Takashi Ono(大矢 忠), who won the category also in 2009 and 2011.  His carvings are some of the best of any bonsai potter of all time, rivaling the greats like Suruga Yamashou and Zeshin.  

  The Silver award went to Sugiahima Shigehiro, who goes by the potter name Hiroshi(宏).  An interesting trio of containers with good form and ash finish.  Hiroshi trained in the past with well known Shigaraki potters Hikari and Yamafutoshien.
  

 The bronze medal this year for unglazed containers went to Toyoki Yasumoto, who presented a series of 4 mini-bonsai containers.  Very excellent form for such small pieces.
Glazed Containers

   The gold award for Glazed pottery went to one of 3 students of blog favorite Fukuda Shigeru(Bushuan) who exhibited in this show. The artist is Kyuji Jinbo , who goes by the names Jinkozan (神久山) or Jinbe(じんべ).  He won the silver award in the category last year.  Excellent forms and glazes, you can certainly see the influence of his Teacher, of who Jinbe remarks that he taught him “the Joy of the flowerpot”.
 Silver medalist for glazed containers in this year’s show went to blog favorite Shunka Seizan. For the past articles on Shunka Seizan, click his name.  As usual, fantastic glazes, and good diversityof form for single block carved containers.

 After the show, I was fortunate enough to add one of the three winning containers to my collection.  An excellent example of Sango Yu(Coral Red Glaze).
   The bronze award for glazed containers went to Hiroshi Hirabayashi, for a quartet of glaze/enamel painted mini containers(the painted container category is strictly for landscape and figure paintings).  He studies bonsai at Yamato-en.  Good geometric designs and multiple shapes.
 Last years’ winner for glazed containers, Shinobu(who also took the Gold for unglazed containers in 2014), presented a trio of Hakkaku(octagon) containers with cloud feet.  Both glazed and unglazed, and all 3 very nice.  Formerly a hobby potter, Shinobu is now in full production, and in addition to Glazed and Unglazed containers, makes excellent tenpai.  

 Shinobu award winning glazed container from 2015. Shinobu Hut Tenpai and moss shitakusa from my collection.

Painted Containers

   Gold in painted containers this year was awarded to Yokotani Toshihide, formerly known as Shuzan, now working under the name Shunhou(俊峯). Shunhou is a former apprentice of Owari Yuhou, who I’ve featured on the blog before.  He also won bronze in 2015 and silver in 2014.

   
 A couple of other examples of Shunhou’s work.

  The silver award in painted containers went to Shintaro Tamura, who goes by the trade name Matsutake.  His father(Takeo Tamura) is a well-known collector of containers, and his brother also exhibited in this show.  Great variety of shapes, very clean clay work.  And disarmingly simple but lovely paintings.  Shibui.  Bronze this year went to Kyogoku Shiho.  If you check the Table of Contents there’s an older article about this painter.  Excellent details and classical styles.  A sharp contrast to the “less is more”Aesthetic of the silver award winner above! 
   
Last year’s winner in the category, Yamada Shigetoshi(Shun) presented three containers showing excellently detailed paintings and a good diversity of form.

  And last of all, the special exhibition from Ito Gekkou.  Gekkou has won enough awards, of course, so these were for display only.  Great to see his current style, and how it’s changed so much from earlier works.
Thanks for Reading!  Stay Tuned!  Tomorrow I’ll post Part 2, looking at the other entrants into the exhibition!

There were many other notable artists and favorites in this year’s exhibition who didn’t win awards.  Let’s take a look at a few I found interesting.

 My friend Ruban Yu of Taiwan entered a nice set of 3 painted containers, showing a nice diversity of form and interesting style to the paintings that is every bit unique. 

   Ruban’s containers pair very well with bonsai, I’ve seen some fantastic examples from Taiwan.  That’s perhaps the best Fukien Tea Shohin I’ve seen, and I’m quite envious of the second tree, as well, a collected Taiwan Native, Breynia Officianalis.   Give his website a visit to see more of his work here: Ruban Yu.

  One of the three students of Bushuan in this year’s competition, Shunhou presented three unglazed pieces.  Excellent clay work is apparent, a bit more diversity of form and I think he would have taken a prize.    

 The entry from another blog favorite and renowned Japanese potter Hayashi Tyukan.  I was quite surprised this entry didn’t take a prize.  For more on this artist, there’s an article in the TOC.  That Ken-Rinka Shape round is absolutely breathtaking. 

 The entry from renowned Kyoto potter Koto Chukan.  Very rarely do I say anything negative about the containers I showcase here, but this year, I was a bit disappointed with Chukan’s entry….. 

   A couple of other pieces from Koto Chukan, to illustrate my disappointment.  A trio of nicely carved and glazed pieces from friend of the blog Kiyoshi Koiwai.  Very excellent footwork and very nice geometric carvings as well.
  A three piece entry from former Ishida Shoseki student Shosui.  These are some of the best detailed containers I’ve seen from this artist. A 3 piece glazed entry with relief carvings from friend Tani Ranzan.  Ranzan has an incredible diversity of talent, and excels at carvings, paintings, and clay work.   

 The 3rd Bushuan student to be accepted to the exhibition, this 3 piece offering comes from Michiko Jinbo, wife of glazed category winner Hiyashi Jinbo(Jinbe).  One can really see the influence of her teacher in the container on the left….. 

 Bushuan from my collection showing a very similiar glaze style and form. 

  A really nice trio of painted containers from Kenji Kobayashi, who took silver in the category in 2014.  Nicely detailed and excellent clay work. A trio of painted containers from Yamachi(山ち), Tomoko Ishikawa.  Excellent detail and good variety of painting and shape.
  The entry from Tomoyoshi Tamura, the brother of the the silver award in the painted category.  Very interesting glazes and painting.

 Last up from the exhibition proper, we have the entries from the husband and wife Doshitas(Doshita Keishin and Doshita Housei, respectively).  Keishin and Housei do marvelous work.  Her paintings are excellent and highly detailed, while his unglazed containers show fantastic clay work and a rare talent for magnificent calligraphy.  I think it likely these two pottery pros are the reason top honors are no longer given back to back, as both won top honors in their respective categories in the first couple of Exhibitions.  Look for full articles on them in the coming weeks. 

 In addition to the Container exhibition proper, there were two pottery displays in the Gafu Ten that I thought were worth a look.  The above 7 point display features 6 containers from Heian Tofukuji, and a small painted container from Tsukinowa Yusen.  Great variety of form, depth, texture, and shape.    The second pottery display I enjoyed was a 7 point featuring all works by Ichinokura Sekisyu.  Again, good diversity of shape, but I would have liked to see at least 1 each of the unglazed and glazed containers Sekisyu also excelled at creating.

If you’d like to read more and see more of the The Shohin Bonsai Pottery Exhibitions, check the Table of Contents for my reports on previous shows, and also visit 2016 Kobachi for the other entries from this year!

Thanks again for reading!  

Karahashi Homiyabi was born September 5, 1920, in Kyoto.  Before bonsai pottery, he helped with the family business making traditional Kyo-yaki ware.  He started his earnest apprenticeship as a potter/painter in 1970 under Heian Matsumoto, and gained his independence in 1975, whereupon he built a hybrid gas/electric kiln and took the potter name “Kiyoumine Ogurayama”.  Ogurayama entered his first big bonsai pottery exhibition, the National Masterpiece Kobachi, in 1981, and took the Grand Prize.  Since then, he’s won numerous awards and medals for his work.  He is now retired, and his son is the Ogurayama.  

This is our second look at Ogurayama.  The first was 3 years to the day I started working on this article earlier this month: Ogurayama Part 1.  

Ogurayama’s work and style are quite varied and impressive: Carved pieces, underglaze painting, over glaze enamel, and glazed containers are all excellent.  His painting work is an interesting mix of traditional Kyo-Yaki style and his own innovative pictorial style.  Very popular in the Japanese Shohin shows like Gafu Ten, very underrated for the quality, and at a great price point.

Now….on to the pots! 

  Ogurayama creates some of the best winter scene painted containers I’ve seen, from any painter.  This piece is sublime, with just enough color to focus the attention on the figures crossing the bridge.  The demon feet are a great touch, and show his carving work in addition to excellent painting.
  A very nice figure painting sometsuke.  Very nicely detailed figures, and excellent patina.  Traditional Kyo-yaki arabesques, another showing excellent patina.
  A really unique piece.  The top a very highly detailed 5 color figure painting, and the base a gold overglaze enamel.  Astounding contrast.  A simple glazed cream oval with red accents.
  Another traditional style painting, of Ume in bloom.  The single offset bloom to the right of center creates an assymetry that makes the pot stand apart(and gives direction and flow to the painting).  A less detailed sometsuke figure piece than the previous examples.  More Spartan, with a great use of negative space and a clear story.
  An almost coral red glaze with cram accents.  Interesting form and the darkening of the glaze in the center process an interesting symmetry, complimenting the cut feet.Traditional Kyoto style geometrics and a mokko panel landscape.  Good patina on this piece.  An easily usable pot.
  Another very detailed figure painting.  There are two things about this pot that really stand out for me: the hole in the foot, which is a nice touch, and the figure pointing up and outward.  The latter provides flow and direction to the piece, and that his index finger just barely crosses the clearly defined line of the scene is fascinating.  I see it as almost spiritually metaphorical.  An abstract painting with Hiragana(ほ-ho).  Hiragana is a phonetic way of writing Japanese, more closely resembling our western writing than Kanji.  It is considered feminine in style and often used by poetesses.
  Two sides of a fascinatingly colored rectangle.  The upper seems like a Monet, the Lower calls to my mind Van Gogh.  Really interesting and unique style here.

Oribe glazed green and blue with demon feet.  Fantastic glaze and Clay work.
  Another really interesting container showing multiple levels of talent.  The indent corners, bottom sash, and clean lines show excellent clay work, the brilliant yellow shows Ogurayama’s glazing expertise, and the ken mokko shaped panel with go-sai landscape show his painting skill.  An excellent piece, with a great patina.  Another landscape rectangle.  This piece is highly detailed, and the color variations Ogurayama pulls from the sometsuke are astounding.  
A simple soft cornered semi-cascade rectangle with carved arabesques.    This piece throws me for a loop.  Sitting under a tree, we are looking out on a landscape, rather than looking in.  Like the finger crossing the frame in the previous piece, this shows something entirely different and more artistic in meaning and purpose than we see from most painters of bonsai containers.  Very different….  
 A really excellent and cartoonish winter scene with good patina, on a soft cornered rectangle with half cloud feet.  Lovely.  Enough said. 

  Overglaze enamel birds over waves.  The black on Orange is a striking combination.  We’ll finish up our second look at the work of Ogurayama with this extremely odd cut corner ruri rectangle….with what I believe to be are the classical frolicking children…but very oddly rendered.  The overglaze painting calls to my mind the appearance of chalk drawn on the street, by children, of children(or maybe astronauts).  Another meta piece.
 From a few other angles, you can see the nicely carved demon feet glazed in gold enamel.  An truly outstanding piece, from a woefully underrated master of Bonsai Ceramics. 

Thanks for reading!  Stay tuned for updates tomorrow on upcoming lectures and locations, and take a look at the updated “Services” page under the menu bar!

It’s been a busy year, so I haven’t had time to update much of anything, or publish any articles.  I’ve been traveling frequently lecturing around the country at clubs and events, and working on a book about, what else, bonsai containers!  I’ll detail my travels and other fun stuff in a blog post this coming week!

For more information on lectures and services, see the Services page here:

SERVICES
Anywho, I’ve been off the road for 2 weeks, and I’ve put together several new articles, and also updated the For Sale page here: 

FOR SALE

Japanese Bonsai Pots.net is proud to offer the pottery of Roy Minarai, a few of the selections up now:

   
   
Still have a lot more things to add this week and next, so check back often!  A few of the items up now: 

    
 
Thanks for reading and check back soon(or better yet, subscribe ;-)) lots of new articles and posts coming this month!

As many of you know, I’ve been faced with some major health issues over the last couple of years. After the coup de grace of those issues last week, I’ve decided to spend more time fixing some of the things on this site that should have been fixed a while ago.

First up, the Asian Marks database will be no more. Instead, it will be separated into 3 separate databases featuring Japanese, Chinese, and Tokoname marks. I’ve also hopefully improved the interface for mobile users and will be adding many, many more marks. The beta testing version of the Japanese Marks page is already up, so give it a look and messenger me on Facebook with feedback.

As of 1/16, the Chinese page beta is also now live.

Second, articles and blog posts will begin soon. Lots more in store now that the website is back awake. I hope the community I’ve come to love will enjoy it!

The Notorious MRB

After a very long health related hiatus, I figured this first post should be something sexy….real sexy…..That’s right! We’re going to discuss “sexing” Bonsai containers today.

Alas, we won’t be discussing the collectible and risqué designs of Nick Lenz, Dale Cochoy, or Jim Barrett. Rather, we will discuss the qualities that make a container either strong or elegant.

Let us begin with a caveat and a trigger warning: I am fully self aware that this dichotomy is sexist, archaic, and, in the end, unnecessary. It is the common terminology of use in bonsai in Japan in multiple fields of visual art. That I dislike the terminology doesn’t change the fact that it is the terminology we use when talking about both bonsai trees and containers.

What do we mean when we talk about the gender of Bonsai containers? Is the above tree masculine or feminine? The container? All containers are to varying degrees masculine and varying degrees feminine. There aren’t really any containers that are 100% masculine or 100% feminine.

They’re all a ratio, just like our bonsai trees. Once you’ve decided on non-gendered issues like size, height, and color, figuring out that mixture of additional masculine and feminine components is an excellent and simple method of matching a bonsai to the right container. Say you have a tree that’s “mostly masculine” but has some “distinct feminine features.” Then let’s start looking for a container that’s 75% masculine and 25% feminine.

Please remember, this is very subjective. Assigning numbers and percentages to these qualities is more a feeling than legitimate mathematics.

Standard Masculine Features

• Shapes: Square, Rectangle, Mokko, Polygon(hexagon, octagon, etc.)
• Taller height
• Angles
• Cut feet, stepped feet
• Rivets
• Straight walls
• Sharp angular outer lip
• Offset panels
• Most carved decoration
• Cut corners

Standard Feminine Features

• Shapes: Oval, Round, Fukuro, Rinka
• Shallower height
• Soft edges(rather than angles)
• Fancy Feet, cloud feet, chicken feet, Cats Paw feet, etc.
• Both concave and convex walls
• Decorations such as braided rims,
• Most lips
• Inset panels
• Most painted decoration
• Sashes and bands
• Incised corners

Let’s look at some examples and see what we’re talking about.

A basic lipped rectangle with thick walls, sash(obi iri) and cut feet. While the lip and it’s softer angles and the wide sash are feminine features, this is most certainly a Masculine pot. Almost totally masculine.

A totally different rectangle. While the basic shape, offset panel, and angular feet are masculine features, everything else is feminine. Painting, rounded edges, inset corners, lip, and bottom band. The shape still plays the lions share of determining gender, so this is still a masculine rectangle, but suited for a tree with grace as well. Maybe 70% masculine and 30% feminine.

What would you put in a pot with that ratio?Masculine and powerful trunk, deadwood, and striking jin. The deadwood and trunk, the main features, hold up to the masculinity of the rectangle shape, angular feet, and offset panel. At the same time, the movement of both the trunk and the Jin is elegant and graceful and plays a big role. A perfect fit: 70/30 tree with a 70/30 pot.

How about a comparison of two Tofukuji rounds. The first is rustic and rugged, very masculine for a round with its matte finish, carved decoration, and thick walls. A Very masculine round. 70/30•M/F

The next round, despite having masculine features like sharp edges, is all grace and elegance. Recessed Cloud feet, burnished finish, inner lip, and a slight wabi sabi wonkiness that make for a very feminine round with just a little masculinity. 90/10•F/M

A deep oval from Koushousen Yamaaki. The oval shape and lip are feminine, but the depth, feet and mushikui decoration are masculine. Suitable for a powerful informal upright pine with elegant movement. 80/20•M/F

This old Chinese Shudei is a 50/50 split to me. The shape is masculine, rectangle, but the lip, inset feet, indent band, highly burnished finish, and convex and bowed walls are all feminine features. A rectangle in drag. 50/50

A definitely masculine pure silver riveted hexagon from Andrew Pearson of Stone Monkey Ceramics in England. While the feet are ornate and feminine, and the silver color to the rivets is more feminine than usual rivets, this is a clearly masculine pot. when the rivets tarnish, it will be even more masculine. 90/10

A pair of rectangle Tsukinowa Yusen. Everything about these pots other than the painting and slight outward slope to the walls is a masculine feature. Nonetheless, they’re fairly feminine pots. It’s easy to imagine a fairly delicate flowering Shohin here with elegant movement but a powerful trunk. 60/40•M/F

A very shallow oval from Heian Kouzan Jr. while the inset cut feet are masculine, this is a very feminine pot, with it’s shallow height, bottom indent band, and slightly sloping walls. 95/5•M/F

From the same family, Heian Kouzan Sr., here is a Rinka shape with fancy feet, soft kinyo glaze, and lip. While the height is masculine, everything else is elegant and feminine. Could still suit a powerful deciduous bunjin maybe. 90/10•F/M

A great pair of unglazed pieces showing why offset panels(as in the first piece), are thought to be masculine features, while recessed panels are considered feminine features.

An illustration with an Ino Shukuho and a Doshita Keishin, respectively, on the difference between “incised corners”(sumi iri) which are feminine and “cut corners”(sumi kiri) which are masculine. It’s easy to see when you compare them side by side why this is more than just convention.

A classical very shallow feminine antique Chinese Kinyo container that was once likely a suiban. Simple, shallow, elegant, and very feminine. The masculine straight walls and cut feet would still suit a very powerful but elegant deciduous bonsai. 90/10•F/M

Now, in the interest of brevity, we’ll continue this discussion in another post. But before I let you leave, I’d like you to take a look at these bonsai, all different species, all with different qualities and attributes, all with varying levels of masculine and feminine character. All in the same antique special Kinyo fukuro pot. Think about how the owners considered the choice of the pot. Some of these trees are as much masculine as feminine.

I would love to hear your feedback, you can reply here or send it to me on messenger.

Postscript: this is still my favorite pot.

It’s almost common knowledge these days that there are many forgeries of Japanese potters’ work. I’ve even heard some claim that there are more fake pieces than real containers when it comes to some of the top level artists. The truth is, I think, that these claims are highly exaggerated in the West. While I often see forgeries, I see far less than some would lead you to believe, and almost always they are glaringly obvious. For starters, an overwhelming majority of the forgeries that do exist are only of top tier artists. It’s exceedingly rare to see a forgery of an item that can sell for less than $500. Nobody is out there cranking out fake production Yamaaki or Koyo containers, they’re making fakes of Tofukuji, Yusen, Gekkou, and other high end and top shelf potters.

The main culprits of the proliferation of this diabolical BS today are auction service sites like Buyee and other drop ship eBay-style auction services. In the 80’s in Japan the forgery boom was the result of the huge amount of wealth flowing into bonsai from the economic boom years, back when you couldn’t throw a fake Tofukuji without hitting another fake Tofukuji! Now, of course, it’s the internet. These sites used to provide access to a great service, years ago, but now the Asian auction sites have become overrun with garbage, rip offs, broken and forged merchandise, and thieves.  DO NOT BUY there without checking with a reputable dealer or appraiser on what you are buying. You have no recourse overseas if you buy a forged Isseki from an auction site in Japan, Taiwan, or China, you’re just out 5 grand.

I’ve collected images of a few examples recently that I saw for sale in Taiwan, China, and Japan. These should illustrate, as the above Tofukuji with its absolutely atrocious attempt at the artist’s work, how much the problem is overblown. This is certainly true for buyers of mid to high level show pots, containers costing $500-1500(unless those containers are lower end pieces from top shelf potters, like a tiny Tofukuji or Daisuke accent or mame pot). Collectors and investors at the top shelf level have to be much more careful.

So today we’ll look at some of the more commonly forged artists, with examples, that show that forgery is not nearly the problem it was in the 80s and 90s in Japan. With a few simple tips, and a good authenticator or appraiser to help you with purchases, you can buy with confidence in today’s market.

ALL OF TODAY’S CONTAINERS WERE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ONLINE WITH SHIPPING TO THE WEST FROM TAIWAN, JAPAN, AND CHINA.

ITOH GEKKOU

I’ve placed a link to my article on each of the artists work at the beginning of their section, so you can familiarize yourself with their work and easily see the differences being highlighted.
LINK TO REAL GEKKOU:
https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2012/06/21/finally-itou-gekkou-2/

A Forged Itoh Gekkou I found for sale in Taiwan. Everything, literally everything, is wrong with this container and screams fake. The painting style, technique, motif, shape, construction, Chinese even the signature are all at odds with Gekkou’s work. This was $50 US in Taiwan….it sold. And I guarantee it made its was to an online auction site in Japan and probably now resides in the West! Buy from reputable sellers!

This one is also a little harder, most of the others look cheap even to the untrained eye. The one thing you should notice first about all 3 of these fake Gekkou landscape scenes is the lack of birds. Almost every Gekkou Sansui(mountain and water landscape) will have a flock of birds flying in formation. Not all Gekkou have them, and not all forgeries don’t, but the overwhelming majority of authentic and fake Gekkou differ here. No birds is a sign to look closer. In addition, the landscape painting itself is lacking in detail and has some bleed. The color of the sometsuke Blue glaze paint is also FAR too light.

HEIAN TOFUKUJI

LINK TO REAL TOFUKUJI: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2011/06/02/the-unglazed-pots-of-heian-tofukuji/ https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2011/05/25/glazed-pots-by-heian-tofukuji-part-two/

TSUKINOWA YUSEN

LINK TO REAL Yusen: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2013/03/09/tsukinowa-yusen-part-1/

A much nicer example. There were two things that first gave me pause when I first saw it. First, despite being tiny, I see no obvious tool marks from single block carving which are common for Yusen on the interior and underside. And second, it’s extremely unique, top and bottom yellow glaze with full wraparound landscape scene….well that should be very very expensive….and it was 500$. The painting itself is lacking as well. The leaves are too larger for Yusen work, the thatched roofs lack gradation detail, the background conifers are amateurish, and there is no one in the main house(Yusen sansui almost always have a figure in the main hut, unless the figure is elsewhere).

Similar to the blue and red above, everything is wrong with this one, for all the reasons mentioned in these other forgeries. The painting style is unlike Yusen, and amateurish at best.

Another example of a likely older piece of regional pottery that was forge signed using a CNC machine. The motif is a classic one, but totally unlike the real classical dragon motifs painted by Yusen.

A real Yusen painted with classical dragon motif. The difference is striking. There’s no comparison between the levels of skill of these two artists.

SANO DAISUKE

LINK TO REAL Daisuke: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2012/09/21/sano-daisuke/ https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2013/12/26/daisuke-sano-hiroshige-and-the-53-stations/

This one is supposed to be later Daisuke work. If you looked back at the two articles in the links above, you know as well as I do there is no way Daisuke painted this. Daisuke was the master of the crowded pot. Negative space has to fight for room in his pieces. This container is almost a study in minimalism. And it was too cheap.

Miyazaki Isseki

You can see another post I wrote on this matter featuring Isseki, Ino Shukuho, and Yusen at the following LINK: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2013/06/19/fg-forgeries/

Descriptions of those forgeries can be found at the link. Here is an especially egregious Isseki.

All of these Pots in this article were Cheaper than they should be. CAVEAT EMPTOR. Let the buyer beware. While the bonsai pottery market Is MUCH safer than it is often rumored to be in the West, there are still shady sellers willing to take advantage of the emerging market that the West has become. I’ve seen several handfuls of forgeries purchased from online from these sites in America and Europe by buyers who didn’t know enough to buy in a high end art market without help.

If you want to collect and invest in higher end pots, there are a few things you should do.
1. Get an authenticator/appraiser. They charge, but it’s better than getting ripped off. 2. Buy from reputable sources. Sources that are not only reputable among enthusiasts, but among dealers and appraisers. There are people who sell shady merchandise that are well thought of.
3. Study. Learn as much about the potters and pots you love as you can.
4. Find out what you love. Collecting pots is no different from bonsai. At first you want some of everything. Study first, to find where your tastes truly lie, then start to buy.
5. Use your best pots. And grow bonsai that deserve them. This is where these hobbies truly intersect, otherwise they’re mostly separate; your love of bonsai will improve your pottery collection, and your love of pottery will improve your bonsai.

I’ll be trying to update with a new article every Monday, with occasional surprise articles on other days.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my first regularly scheduled published article and learned a little something.

THANKS FOR READING!

I was away from writing for so long I missed 3 entire years of The Annual Kobachi Exhibition which I have written about since it’s 7th year. The reports from The All Japan Shohin Bonsai Association who holds the exhibition every year in January at the Gafu Ten are No longer available online(even with the Wayback Machine!). So I will have to piece together some highlights and hopefully the winners from each exhibition so there will be a record in English. I’m a day early with the weekly post today because I have another one for you later this week!

If you’d like to see articles about the previous exhibitions, check the “A Table of Contents” page in the Menu on mobile or on the the header banner on PC. Lots to learn as you follow the potters who have entered multiple times!

The 12th Annual Kobachi Exhibition

WINNERS!

GLAZED CONTAINERS

UNGLAZED CONTAINERS

The Gold Prize was Awarded to “Shouzan”(昭山). Both the technical form and Shudei vermillion red clay are outstanding.

A rare .honorable mention was also given, although I am not familiar with the artist. All the pieces are variable in size, style, and technique, well deserved.

PAINTED CONTAINERS

OTHER NOTABLE ENTRIES

The 13th Annual Kobachi Exhibition


WINNERS

UNGLAZED CONTAINERS

GLAZED CONTAINERS

PAINTED CONTAINERS

OTHER NOTABLE ENTRIES

The 14th Annual Kobachi Exhibition

WINNERS

GLAZED CONTAINERS

PAINTED CONTAINERS

OTHER NOTABLE ENTRIES

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the three Annual Contemporary Kobachi Exhibitions I missed while on hiatus. I definitely missed a few details, but hopefully I’ve provided somewhat of a record for those of us in the Western World.
Thanks for Reading!

I look forward every January to the Gafu Ten exhibition and the results and images of the major pottery competition held there/ The Contemporary Kobachi.  For articles on the previous exhibitions, click over to the “A Table of Contents” page under the menu bar.

2019 saw more countries competing than ever before, a continuing trend. It’s honor just to show at the exhibition, taking home a prize is the top class In awards for bonsai pottery. While I disagreed with some of the results of the judging, and claim politics may have played a hand, there is no doubt that the winning containers all deserved recognition. Gold, silver, and bronze awards are given in 3 categories: Unglazed, Glazed, and Painted.

GLAZED CONTAINERS

GOLD AWARD:
Keiun(桂雲).  His given name is Yasuo Fukuda. He is Fukushige’s(Bushuan) nephew, and learned pottery in his uncle’s studio. Keiun also entered the 14th Kobachi. An excellent display of variety, classical styles and glazes. His style couldn’t be more different from that of his uncle.

SILVER AWARD:
Went to the Jiji Kiln (ツ), Juninho Nakayama. An interesting and minimal use of decorative relief images definitely made this entry stand out. I enjoyed the clean lines to the forms and the beautiful Celadon glaze as well.

BRONZE AWARD:
Tsutomo Matsuda, artist name Seiun, won the silver prize at the 10th Kobachi exhibition in 2014. In 2020 he took home the Bronze prize for this entry of fantastically glazed octagons. Great forms and a good mix of colors in the contemporary glaze style.

UNGLAZED CONTAINERS

GOLD AWARD:
Tani Ranzan, former sushi chef, sculptor, bonsai artist and potter, and painter. A very well known and popular potter here in America. A Renaissance man of bonsai finally takes home the gold he deserves.

SILVER AWARD:
Tadashi Ono(大矢忠) again takes home an award, like it seems he does every year. This year a silver award with a series of classical relief sculpture in the signature style he is known for, which usually exceeds and incorporates the rim with the carving.

BRONZE AWARD:
Yoshi (芳), real name Yoshihiru Hiromasa. This potter is relatively unknown to me. The firing method looks perhaps like a Saggar fire. I have a friend who did this in Shigaraki, Japan during her apprenticeship. They used rice husks in an electric kiln with pots buried in them partway to leave carbonization and natural ash finishes. Rustic and utilitarian.

PAINTED CONTAINERS

GOLD AWARD:
Reijaku(玲雀), given name Chen Myorin, is a Taiwanese painter who began painting containers in 1976. In both painting technique and clay technique, this artist shows true mastery. The Taiwanese have become the country to beat outside of Japan in the painted category over the last few years, taking home multiple prizes.

SILVER AWARD:
Stacy Allen Muse. A Florida Native and American, brought an award home for America, and himself, in the silver prize class.

BRONZE AWARD:
Tomoyo Nakazato, called Chi(知), has been making pots since 2017 and painting since 2018. A short amount of time to have taken the bronze award for his 3 painted mame rounds. A nice display of simple containers, tastefully presented, with a variety of Japanese classical geometric and arabesque patterns.

SPECIAL EXHIBITS NOT FOR COMPETITION

That’s my coverage of Part 1 of my coverage of the 2020 Japanese Annual Contemporary Artist Exhibition.
In Part 2, we will look at the other displays that didn’t take home prizes but were definitely worth mention.
I hope you enjoyed seeing the pots from these artists as much as I look forward to seeing them every year!

As Always, Thanks for Reading!

There were many notable entries other than the winners this year, a couple of which would definitely have been in contention for gold had it not been for accidental breakage before judging.

That’s it for my coverage of the 2020 Annual Contemporary Kobachi Artists Exhibition at Gafu-Ten. I hope you enjoyed seeing the containers from these artists as much as I look forward to seeing them every year!

In the coming weeks, the regular Monday posts will have a good mixture of articles on aesthetics and history, as well as the site’s usual artist profiles. Some articles to watch out for over the next couple of months include: Patina, Cost and Value, Joshu Katsuyama, And Zyubei; as well as a surprise article featuring Japanese Recognized Masterpieces and a certain well known pottery dealer. So stay tuned and subscribe!

As always, thanks for reading!

He was born Ogiwara Katsuyoshi on December 8, 1937.
At first, he went by the artist/kiln name Ogiwara Shouzan, then changed it to Joshu Shouzan. He finally settled on Joshu Katsuyama, which is great for us because there are just too many Shouzan around and it gets confusing.

He was always an enthusiastic and talented artist, and when he decided to make his own shohin bonsai containers, he taught himself sometsuke(blue underglaze painting) and akae(red overglaze enamel painting). He began painting ceramics in his own studio in 1975.

His style of landscape and figure painting is heavily influenced by the Nanga style of painting from Southern China, as was Fujikake Yuzan(see previous article on blog). This leads many to think Katsuyama are Yuzan derivative, but really they’re contemporaries and both Chinese derivatives. The style can be slightly cartoonish, but is charming in its own unique way. His go-sai paintings are especially nice in this style, with some even rivaling the work of Yuzan, who is considered, along with Gekkou, to be the best of his generation. In addition to a variety of painting styles(sometsuke, akae, go-sai) Katsuyama is known for underside painting details on his pieces. Works without painting on the bottom are considered lesser pieces.

Considering that the prices of Katsuyama’s work versus stylistically similar artists like Yuzan are a third or less of the cost, this artist definitely belongs in the Bang For Your Buck Potters category. For a few hundred dollars, rather than a grand or two, you can acquire a container for your shelf or your Shohin bonsai that is worthy of admiration. They also retain value, and are always easy sells.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my article on Joshu Katsuyama, he of so many names! Katsuyama is the first painter in my Bang for You Buck artists series, painted containers often being much more expensive than similar grades of glazed and unglazed bonsai pottery. But there are artists out there like Katsuyama that are affordable if you look!
Many more Bang for Your Buck articles coming in the future featuring potters every enthusiast can afford!

Thanks for reading!

Like bonsai itself, bonsai pottery is filled with classical designs and traditional motifs. Visual motifs like paintings and carvings on bonsai containers often come from famous paintings, poems, and prints. Stylistic motifs like shapes and details(say of the feet, or rim) can come from individual artists and be named after them or from specific eras. In this series of articles, we’ll look at the origins of often seen classical and traditional motifs and styles as well a variety of examples. I’ll keep the critique on the pots to a minimum on this one as it’s already run a bit long!

Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga

A Little History:
The Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, commonly called the Chojugiga, is an ancient Japanese cultural property and National Treasure owned by the Kozan-Ji temple and dates from the 12th to possibly 13th centuries. It is a series of painted hand scrolls featuring anthropomorphic, frolicking animals, magical humans, and samurai. Thieving monkeys, bathing rabbits, and wrestling frogs appear throughout, and these are the elements of the scrolls that find their way onto bonsai pottery often enough to be called traditional motifs. Originally the animal elements of the scrolls were whimsical and satirical representations of the priests of the time. The scrolls have been highly influential in Japanese art and culture, and are often credited as being the first manga. Some of the stylistic painting effects such as movement lines used by the artist are still in use in Manga in Japan today.

Raijin and Fujin

A Little History:
Raijin and Fujin are Japanese weather deities(Kami). Raijin is the god of thunder, storms, and lightning. Fujin is the god of the wind. Thought of as both protectors and destroyers, like many Japanese deities Raijin and Fujin are neither good nor bad. In a nation like Japan where natural disasters related to the weather are more commonplace than other societies with extensive mythologies, it’s difficult to see how two weather deities are thought of as protectors. Raijin’s positive aspects come from agriculture, as the bringer of storms and rain. Fujin’s good side is historically rooted in winds that twice decimated Mongol naval invasions in the 13th century.

The Fox’s Wedding

A Little History:
“On a day when the sun shines bright and the rain falls, wise parents advise their children to play indoors. It isn’t that they are worried about them catching a cold. No, it is something more mysterious. For on such days the kitsune, the magical foxes of Japan, hold their wedding processions.”-From the Hyakumongatori website.
The “kitsune no yomeiri”, or “Fox’s Wedding” in Japanese folklore is an explanation for unexplained forest lights or a ‘sunshower’(where it is raining but the sky is clear and the sun shining). Folklore surrounding the sunshower is fascinating reading. I’ve long been enamored of stories in folklore and fiction involving trickster gods and spirits, and they always seem to be associated with fairy lights and sunshowers.
For further reading on the Fox’s Wedding, I highly recommend the article on this site Hyakumonogatari.com.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Part 1 in a series on classical motifs that appear frequently on bonsai containers. Almost all of the artists in this article have full articles devoted to them as well, check the Table of Contents if you’re interested in seeing more work from and learning more about any artist.
In future installments of this series we’ll look at famous woodblock prints like The 53 Stations of the Tokaido, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa and other Hokusai, as well as the origins of some named bonsai container styles and details.

Thanks for Reading!