Bizen ware

Bizen is one of the Six Ancient Kiln sites of Japan so work from there goes back many centuries. The work is largely wood-fired and can be a bit of an acquired taste, which I have grown to love over the years.

This Topic contains information about a number of individual potters and kilns within the Bizen area. As things develop, some of the potters included here may have individual topic themselves. When this happens we will make every effort to provide links within this topic.

Bizen ware marks -

http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/bizen-markings.html

Below is a tokkuri (sake bottle) by Yu Fujiwara (1932 - 2001), who was appointed the fourth Bizen National Living Treasure in 1996.

The tokkuri came with its own wooden box: -



The script above the red seal mark is Yu Fujiwara is Japanese and that to the right tells you where the pot inside was made and what it is.

and his incised mark was on the base.



You will note that this is the same as the red seal mark on the box, although this is not always the case with Japanese pottery.

Below is a vase by Shoji Takahara (1941 -2000), who was one of the early potters leading the rebirth of Bizen pottery. He opened his first kiln in 1962 when there were around a dozen potters in and around Bizen Citey, whereas today there are over 600.

I stated above that most Bizen pottery is wood-fired but the yunomi below was not, being fired in an electric kiln.

studio-pots wrote:Bizen is one of the Six Ancient Kiln sites of Japan so work from there goes back many centuries. The work is largely wood-fired and can be a bit of an acquired taste, which I have grown to love over the years.

i would agree on the 'acquired taste' part. Not going to light my fire i'm afraid.

A couple of pots by young Bizen potter, Kazuya Ishida, that I sold recently. These were made in Bizen where Kaz fires his kiln for 9 days and the teabowl was one of the "special" pots that he removes at the end of the firing before the kiln is cooled. "Special" because you get very exciting effects and also because a high percentage don't survive.


Kaz is only 29 years old and is the son of Bizen ceramic artist, Yasuhiro Ishida. From 2007 until 2010 he studied under the current Bizen Living National Treasure, Jun Isezaki.

I have been trying to find out the maker of this bizen ware vase and i'm struggling. I have been told it is by Shoji Takahara but I can't corroperate it.

I have a later vase with box by Shoji Takahara, which I am basing on the condition of your box.

The inscription on the box lid looks correct but the incised mark on my vase is different from yours (I will photograph later). Some potters did change their incised mark over their lifetime and so I wouldn't say that the vase is not the correct vase for the box but I can't confirm that it is.

Thank you, that makes sense as I have seen similar. The mystery continues.

Here is my vase by Shoji Takahara that has an accompanying signed wooden box.

Below are two images of incised marks. The first one is on the bottom of my vase and the one below it on the bottom of your vase.  


If you aligned them they both kind of look like an A with the centre line extended outside the uprights. However, it would be difficult to think that they were written by the same hand, unless you said that your mark might be by the same hand when younger and when less confident.

Why am I suggesting the mark on mine is typical and, therefore, correct?

When I bought it from a Japanese antique dealer he said it was by Takahara but it was over 15 years ago and I had no knowledge of whether that was true or not or if the name was important. I had originally bought it to sell but decided to keep it for myself after doing some research.

Takahara was born in 1941 and died in 2000. He opened his first workshop in 1969 and so his potting life was relatively short.

I have a book published in Germany called Faszination Keramik that documents, with numerous images, the Freudenberg Collection of what Gisela Freudenberg regarded as "Masterpieces of Modern Japanese Pottery".

There are 4 pieces of Takahara's work dating from the mid to late 1980s in the collection and the mark shown is identical as a "signature" can be to that on the bottom of my vase.

So for me, I wouldn't feel confident enough to buy it feeling certain that the vase and the box were not a marriage like the first Japanese pot and box that I bought, unless you had bought it from a source that I would trust.

Thanks for your comprehensive answer. I noticed that the line through the A shape is also different, one is on top and the other is on the bottom.

That's correct. I think now that you have read this that I will move the thread and label it as Shoji Takahara, as all of the information here is relevant to someone seeking information about him.

Gorobe-gama kiln, Bizen ware

Suzuki Katsushi. 鈴木勝詞. b. 1949.  Bizen ware. He had 4 marks and this appears to be one of them

Tsuru neck (crane neck) Bizen ware, mallet shaped vase