Potter: Kimura Mitsuru
Approximate size: W3.9″ by W6.0″ by H8.8″ or 10.0 by 15.5 by 22.5 cm
This is a large Mashiko ware vase with a kai-yu or ash-glaze – overlaid with a wax-resist decoration of flowers, made by famous potter Mitsuru Kimura (1939-1998). He was born in Fujihara, Tochigi prefecture in 1939. Through marriage with Kimura Ichiro’s first daughter in 1968, he started studying under his new father-in-law. Years pass and Kimura Ichiro retired from potting, Mitsuru inherited the name and became the second generation working from the kiln. Like this ash glaze and wax-resist decoration, his style is different from Shoji Hamada and Kanjiro Kawai – the defining masters that are responsible for initiating events which would lead to the creation of what is know as ‘mingei‘.
I, PotterTHOROUGHLY MASHIKO
My first encounter with the work of Kimura Ichiro was back in the very early 1980’s, I had acquired a group of exhibition catalogues from a book dealer and among them was one on Kimura from 1976. There was quite the array of pieces from thrown to the molded henko pots and each had a distinctly folk art look of Mashiko-yaki. On our first trip to Japan in 1990 and subsequent ones we were able to see a large number of his pots especially in Mashiko, where his work was displayed in a number of galleries. What became immediately apparent was that while Hamada Shoji was a product of a variety of his experiences and travels, it is safe to say, Kimura Ichiro was a product of Mashiko and the community and lifestyle that Hamada and other Mashiko potters had crafted out of a long standing craft tradition. Kimura Ichiro (1915-1978) studied with Hamada Shoji prior to WW II and after his apprenticeship set up his studio and kiln in Mashiko and fired his first kiln load of pots in1947. Like fellow Hamada students Shimaoka Tatsuzo and Murata Gen, Kimua Ichiro has gone on to be a major fixture of Mashiko pottery and was part of a major exhibit of Mashiko potters in the late 90’s. His son, Kimura Mitsuru, continues in his father’s footsteps.
Mitsuru Kimura has held private exhibitions of his late father-in-law’s posthumous works in Utsunomiya and Ueno and of his own works in Matsudo, the Isetan in Takasaki and Berlin. As expected his works show many qualities alike his teacher but moreso become a unique blend of the styles that were developing around him. Experiencing the atmosphere of mingei from a less frequently encountered potter.
Absent of chips or cracks. Condition is excellent and comes with the original high quality paulownia tomobako, storage box of which the inside of the lid bears Mitsuru Ichiro’s calligraphy and seal. The storage box has the slots to hold a cord but currently does not have one.
€500 400+ shipping cost
