Japanese Bonsai Pots Blog

Bonsai Pottery by Haruyoshi

japanesepots — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:46:04 +0000

In todays feature we’ll have a look at potter Haruyoshi. One of the modern masters of painted porcelain pots, including sometsuke(cobalt blue underglaze), red underglaze, and five color styles of porcelain painting. Along with Gekkou and Fujikake Yuzan, Haruyoshi is one of the most popular potters of painted porcelain bonsai pottery, and his pots are on the rise in value. At between 1/4 to 1/2 the price of a Gekkou or Yuzan, Haruyoshi pots are still relatively inexpensive, and undervalued for the quality.

Haruyoshi, photo Courtesy Yorozuen

A marvelous winter scene! Winter scene pots are rare, which seems strange to me, given that the Gafu and Kokufu exhibitions are held in the dead of winter each year, I would think there would be more! It’s tough to tell from the photo the photo if this pot is overglaze painting or a combination of underglaze enamel and overglaze enamel. The white overglaze of the snow on the Celadon green porcelain is fantastic, and there is some nice detail to the boat and it’s pilots.

Haruyoshi, 3" My Collection

A Small Haruyoshi sometsuke in my collection. When you hold one in your hand, and see them in person, its quite easy to see why they are becoming so popular and fast becoming expensive!

Round with Sometsukelandscape and yellow border. Very nice brush work on such a small piece.

A multi color painted pot with some very nice detail and brush work. Just enough negative space to the left to appear uncluttered.

Small 5 color painted pot, sometsuke bordering. This looks to be a combination of under and overglaze enamel work. The 5 colors(go-sai) were made popular in the Ming dynasty Chinese porcelain pieces, and still continuetot be the most popular in Kutani and other porcelain wares.

Another Go-sai pot with some great detailing and brushwork.

A nice Sometsuke landscape with centered view. Painted bonsai landscape pots will generally have negative space on one side or the other, there to help reinforce the directional movement of the tree. IRilke this pot as it could be used with a tre with movement to the left or right.

A nice red painting with blue border. I love how this cascade pot presents a little cliff side landscape overhanging the river, with it’s semi-cascade black pine.

The above and below pots are two great examples of Haruyoshi glazed pots. In addition to masterful painting, Haruyoshi produces some nice glazed pots with interesting colors. The thick double glaze on the pot below is especially nice.

Haruyoshi, 4" by 2" tall

We’ll finish off with one final glazed pot from Haruyoshi, in my collection. This pot is beginning to show a nice patina, as can be seen from the bottom detail.

Hope you enjoyed the marvelous pots of Haruyoshi, til the next post….Hopefully Ill have a great new collection post soon, as Kokufu is next week!

Bushuan Pots Part 2

japanesepots — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:20:20 +0000

Today’s post we’ll look at a few more pots from Shigeru Fukuda, aka Bushuan, the subject of our last post. In addition to the Bushuan from my collection on my “For Sale” page, all of the pots shown in today’s post are available for sale from Japan, are 5.5-6″, and come with original box and cloth, drop me a line if you’re interested.
It’s very easy to see from these pieces why Bushuan pots are always mentioned in conjunction with Tofukuji. His glazes are unique and spectacular, yet harmonious in the same way. Like Tofukuji, Bushuan began as a hobby potter, was self-taught, and came to pottery as a second career. So many parallels for these two masters of glaze.

Heian Tofukuji

The Tofukuji pot in the thumbnail clearly shows the links and similarity these potters have, the analogy made by so many is most definitely apt! This Bushuan called almost be an homage! The Tofukuji pot is from the collection of Matt Ouwinga, of Kaede Bonsai-En.

Thanks for stopping in to see a few more fantastic pots. I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed finding them! Tomorrow’s post I’ll be profiling potter and painter Haruyoshi, a modern master of underglaze painting.

UPDATE:12/27
All 5 Bushuan pots pictured have been sold! I still have 1 featured on my “For Sale” page that is available. This guys work moves fast!

Pots by Shigeru Fukuda(Bushuan)

japanesepots — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:54:20 +0000

Today’s post is a selection of pots from contemporary potter Shigeru Fukuda, who makes pots under the trade name “Bushuan” or sometimes, “Fukumo”.
A former professional car racer, Fukuda took up Bonsai as a hobby at 27, became well known as a Satsuki enthusiast, and soon began collecting pots, especially old Chinese. He began making pots in 1986, and met with fast acclaim. His glazes are very nice, with pretty fantastic kiln changes. His work and glazes are often compared to Tofukuji.

Shigeru Fukuda(For Sale!) 10.2cm by 5.7cm

You can find this wonderful pot on my For Sale page. Another exceptional multiglaze pot. I think I see three or four different layers of glaze in there! The pairing of the colors is pretty magical, crackled greens, white spotted blues, leathery oranges…masterpiece.

I love the blue drippy glaze on this pot. The white highlights really bring out the depth of the varying shades of blue.

A multi-glaze pot with quite a bit more subtlety than the previous two. Still, the thick running glaze and blue highlights are pretty fantastic.

A lightly crackled blue and green round with top lip. I love the long drips of Indigo turning to blue at the base. The patina on this pot, which is starting to form, can be observed by comparing the interior glaze with the exterior.

Another round with major drips! the ridges in the clay body have created places for the red to pool and coalesce, creating whirls and vortices. Very nice effect.

Thick blue-green glaze with cloud feet. The cloud feet are almost completely obscured by the thick running glaze, a beautiful pot.

Very fine crackle in subtle blues, greens, and yellows.

Another drippy blue-green with cloud feet, lotus shaped. I pulled this off of the Songheryuan Bonsai Pot Blog, as can be seen from the photo. Its an excellent blog out of Taiwan with lots of great Bonsai.

Photo Copyright Yorozuen

A more subtle blue, green, and indigo round. This pot just begs for a cascade or semi cascade Umemodoki, or Chanomeles with Red flowers!

A nice blue and green soft square holding a very nice Kaede in development. Its clear the front has changed right 15-20 degrees since this matchup, it will be nice to see it oriented properly. This tree came from the blog,
http://ssbin.blog.shinobi.jp/
Ive mentioned it before, you should really check it out if you havent already!

Little green and white round with some carving detail and full cloud feet. A nice little crackle to the glaze, and the carving is subtle. A pot that will take on patina very well in time.

Another blue crackle round with some patina beginning to show. Fantastic with a red maple or to contrast with the yellow flowers of a forsythia or Quince fruit.

The only underglaze painted pot I’ve seen by Bushuan. The painting is reminiscent of Ishida Shoseki.

And we’ll finish with a simple small rectangle with a gorgeous bright yellow crackle glaze that is extraordinarily thick. Another pot that will take patina very well, and be spectacular in the years to come.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a few pots from contemporary potter Shigeru Fukuda. I’m still working to get that gold repair post up, hopefully just a couple of days!

Two Special Tofukuji Pots In Depth

japanesepots — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:28:20 +0000

For today’s post we will look at 2 Heian Tofukuji pots in the collection of bonsai artist and fellow American pot collector Matt Ouwinga. Matt has a great eye for pots and the most extensive collection of Tofukuji pots in the States.

Both of these pots were in the collection of Yorozuen at one time or another, the first was purchased from them directly. Yorozuen, run by three generations of the Hukano family, has some of the highest credentials a nursery can possess, both for pottery and for shohin bonsai. The youngest Hukano is Executive Director of the National Bonsai Pieces Association(the official pottery organization) and the middle Hukano is also an official advisor.
Now…on to the pots!

An exceptionally glazed Tofukuji round green drippy pot with black glaze painted stiching. The kiln changes to the glaze in this pot are spectacular, mottled and drippy in some places, clear and defined in others. I think the mottling could have come from the coarsness of the clay, which may be quite intentional, and not always owing to the local clay quality. Many potters intentionally insert small rocks and pebbles, which explode in the kiln, creating a coarse appearance, quite a common technique in Shigaraki. A true masterwork, this pot is one of the rarest of the rare. The stamp is called “mokube”. There are only 10 authentic Tofukuji pots with this stamp in existence. It is early work, around 60 years old. At one point, Yorozuen had 7 of the 10, this was the last of them. The master there does not believe that any will appear for sale again.

A great tiny little cascade. There are a couple of things that make this pot exceptional. First is the footing. While there are other Tofukuji pots with this style of base and feet, they are very rare. Next is the glaze. It’s quite difficult to find half glazed pots with such clearly defined angles to the run, oweing, I suppose, to the difficulty of the technique. The color to the glaze is also nice. Third is the chop. This chop, like the one before, is also rare(though not 10 pots in existence rare!)and a bit rarer for being on the outside of the pot, but what makes it unique is that it’s inlaid in gold, that’s one of one status for sure!

I hope you enjoyed seeing these pots as much as I do! For more on Matt’s exceptional collection, and some great seedling stock, visit
http://www.kaedebonsai.com/

Pots From My Collection 8(and 6)

japanesepots — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:48:16 +0000

Here are a few more pots from my collection that I thought were worthy of a few shots. As one of my readers pointed out, I completely skipped Collection Post 6 and went from 5 to 7. So this will be number 6 and number 8. Enjoy some pots!

Heian Tofukuji, First generation, 6"

Detail

A First generation Tofukuji with cut corners and cut feet, pear skin clay. Tofukuji pots with this stamp were made from the middle to the end of his career. I love the pear skin clay of this pot, and the angles and cut corners are clean and straight.

Heian Kousen, 4.5" x 3" tall

A clear Tofukuji homage pot by Heian Kousen. Clean lines and a nice finish. You can see the type of Tofukuji pots this is based on here:
http://samedge.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/heian-tofukuji

Okatani Zeshin, about 4" round

A porcelain Zeshin frog pot with really cool crackle to the porcelain glaze. This guys pots never never cease to amaze me!

Haruyoshi, 4" by 2" tall

While Haruyoshi is famous for his wonderful painted porcelain pots, his glazed pots are quite nice as well. This one is starting to show a nice patina.

Togen, 5", Ornate Chinese stand

Its very difficult to capture the fine quality of a Togen pot on film. The burnished finish on Togen pots is the best Ive seen, they positively glow. A relatively unknown Tokoname potter here in the west, Im not sure if they were ever offered through the Tokoname Yuyaku.

Horie Bikoh, 6" by 3.5"

An old Bikoh round white pot showing a great patina from years of use. Bikoh pots are most commonly seen in bright, pure colors, often with glaze inlays of birds and dragons. The clean colors and glazes of Bikoh pots take patina very well.

Tarugen, 3" by .75"

A tiny little painted pot by Tarugen. I like the little bird on the branch, a quaint and cute little pot.

Hope you enjoyed seeing a few more pots from my collection! This week Ive been working on repairing a couple of Antique Chinese pots using gold. The technique is not especially difficult, and the results much nicer than simple repairs with epoxy. Ill detail the technique and its history in Japan, along with the results of my first attempts, in the next post.

Chop and Signature Resource

japanesepots — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:27:35 +0000

If you look at the top of the page here next to the “About” page you’ll see that the new “Chop and Signature Resource” page is now up. Either hover with your mouse over the chop image or click on it to identify the potter. There are nearly 400 chops up now, with a whole bunch more to follow as soon as I find the time to edit the photos and upload them.
I hope everyone finds the resource useful, I’ve spent hours upon hours researching potters and their marks, and I would be remiss if I didn’t share that with the community. Enjoy identifying those pots people!

Antique Chinese Pot

japanesepots — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:18:34 +0000

Here is another antique Chinese pot I picked up a while ago. I thought the recent information I found about it would be interesting. The pot was made well over 100 years ago, and is old crossing. The clay is very rough and rugged, and has drainage holes over 2″ wide! The stamp reads “翼記” and reads “Yoku Ki”. It measures 14.5 × 10.3 × 4.1 cm. Antique Chinese pots of this size are tough to find, most are very large, as big trees were the style back then.

Bottom showing unique oversize holes and stamp.
The most interesting thing I found about this pot is its provenance. While idly thumbing through some old blog posts, I discovered my pot in an old blog post by one of my favorite bloggers in Japan! High end bonsai pottery is a small world indeed!
You can see the blog post here, and I highly recommend checking out the other posts, it’s a great blog and full of information about bonsai and pottery, featuring photos of fantastic trees and pots.

http://ssbin.blog.shinobi.jp/Entry/35/

Hope you enjoyed another great pot. I’ll be doing another post on some interesting pots Monday, and stay tuned for a complete Hanko and Rakkan database page, I hope to have it completed by the middle of January, featuring more than 300 chops, stamps, and signatures from Japanese and Chinese potters and Kilns. Until then, feel free to email me with any pottery questions at Gastrognome@aol.com

Glazed Pots by Heian Tofukuji 3

japanesepots — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:33:35 +0000

In this post I’d like to take a look at a few more glazed pots by Heian Tofukuji. All of the pots featured in todays post are currently for sale. Special thanks to Rie Aketo of Yoshoen and the Hukanos of Yorozuen for the images.

Rectangle glazed Tofukuji in blue-green with cloud feet and lip. Image Courtesy of Yoshoen

A very nice Tofukuji with muted greens and blues. This color works well with many different species.

Blue Glazed rectangle with white highlights and Cloud feet. Image courtesy Yoshoen

A very nice blue with white highlights. Reminds me of a starry night. Begs for an Umemodoki or Japanese maple in fall color.

Green glazed drum with double band and rivets, Image courtesy Yoshoen

Detail of Bottom

One of my favorite Tofukuji pots! Note the multiple chops on the base, and on the interior, very rare! The glaze is beautiful, and the detailed feet and bands are masterful!

White glazed oval with Tofukuji signature style feet, Image courtesy Yoshoen

Bottom Detail

White glazed oval with “signature” style Tofukuji feet. Great patina on this pot! I find white glazed pots with patina irresistible!

Blue glazed drum with cut feet, Image courtesy Yoshoen

Rich blue glazed drum in “Tofukuji Blue.”

Blue glazed oval with cut feet and multicolor highlights, Image Courtesy Yoshoen

Blue and green glazed oval with cut feet. Brings to my mind the Aurora Borealis.

Dark vlue glazed rectangle with clod feet and light blue highlights, Image courtesy Yoshoen

Masterful dark blue with light blue highlights. This pot is just great! Not much I can say!

Blue black glazed hand formed oval, Image copyright Yorozuen

Really nice blackish blue glazed handformed oval. The finger indents in these terebineri pots are really cool, a visible sign of handmade pots.

White glazed oval with cut feet, image copyright Yorozuen

Rustic white glaze over white clay. The thickness of this glaze is outstanding, white clay Tofukuji are rarer than other clay colors.

Marvelous glazed rectangle with cloud feet and bottom band, image copyright Yorozuen

Last but not least we have this lovely glazed rectangle. For only 800,000¥, or $10,000, it could be yours! Just shoot Yorozuen an email!
I hope you enjoyed looking at more glazed pots by Heian Tofukuji.

Gyouzan: Pots by Nakano Yuuji and Yukizou

japanesepots — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:33:32 +0000

Up for your consideration today is a selection of pots by Nakano Yukizou and his son, Nakano Yuuji, of the Gyouzan kiln. Pots by Yukizou are most commonly refered to as “Gyouzan”, while pots by Yuuji are, simply, “Yuuji”, although both are of the Gyouzan kiln. Both generations of Nakano potters are masters of their craft, their work showing exceptional corner and line detail, foot work, and refinement. Their unglazed pots are as exceptional as those by Syuzan and Ryuen. While Gyouzan kiln pots are primarily unglazed, the glazed pots are interesting as well, showing unique colors and creative application. Drainage and tie holes by both generations are often uniquely shaped and arranged in interesting patterns, a signature of the kiln, taking inspiration from antique Chinese pots.
Enjoy this selection of pots by master Tokoname potters, Nakano Yuuji and Nakano Yukizou.

Yukizou, 28 x 11cm

Bottom detail

Foot detail

An outstanding square pot with bottom band matching the feet and a great patina. This type of banded bottom and foot can be seen frequently in pots by Syuzan. Note the bottom detail and the drainage and wire tie holes. The center is a style common to antique Chinese pots, and the Numerous holes for drainage and wire are trademarks of Gyouzan.

Yukizou, 54 x 36 x 12cm

Double Banded(raised and indented!)oval with cut feet. I really love the juxtaposition of the two techniques. Note the clean, classical lines and perfect proportions.

Yukizou, 34 x 28 x 10cm

Corner and foot detail

A great rectangle with angle feet, cut corners, and rounded lip. Once again, clean lines mixed with soft curves making for a harmonious balance of masculine and feminine characteristics.

Yukizou, 30 x 25 x 10cm

Bottom detail

Classic unadorned rectangle with sloping sides. The finish is very nice. Note the signature drain holes.

Yukizou, Glazed, 18 x 15 x 6

Side detail

A rectangle glazed pot with cut corners, cloud feet, and an assortment of swath applied blue glazes. A very unique and interesting pot! Tough to find a tree to Stand up to it in anything BUT fall color contrasts of reds and yellows!

Yuuji, 18 x 15.5 x 7.5cm

Our first pot by Yuuji. A rectangle with angle cut feet, rounded lip, low double band, and cut corners. You can really see the mastery of clay in this pot. So many well done, high quality and difficult to execute details! It’s no wonder Tokoname list price for this one off is over $1000!(located on the first of the Tokoname Yuyaku Gallery pages)

Yuuji, 17.5 x 15 x 6cm

A red glazed rectangular with high cloud feet. Very nice softness to both the shape and the reddish brown glaze. I think the silvery gray underglaze really sets this pot apart when it pops out on the feet.

Yuuji, 18 x 14 x 4.7

A green glazed oval with cut feet and rounded lip. Great depth and complexity to this simple green, and easily usable for a great number of species.

Yuuji, 47 x 40 x 12cm

Corner detail

Indented corner oval with small lip, low center and bottom band, and angle cut feet. Another pot showing a very high degree of skill with numerous hard to execute details. That the feet correspond with indentations, essentially adding “corners” to an oval is striking, as in detail photo. MathematicianS rejoice! They HAVE squared the CIRCLE!

Yuuji, 41 x 34 x 10cm

A simple soft rectangle with low indented band and cut feet. I like this pot for it’s color. The clay is a soft but rich red, while the style pairs well with so many upright conifer forms.

Yuuji, 40 x 32 x 10cm

Another indented oval, with Matching feet and sloping sides. As each Gyouzan pot is a handmade one off, its pivotal and necessary to observe styles and patterns. Contrary to popular opinion in the west, the chop doesn’t make the pot…the pot makes the chop! There are so many different ways to fake a perfect chop. “Nail” Signatures(where the potter actually signs the clay, like a check, can be duplicated EXACTLY with computer routers…in old, already fired pots that have patina! Chops can be duplicated exactly with casting methods. The ONLY way to tell a fake from a real is knowledge of the potter, his style, his tools, his signature moves. If you like Gyouzan, this is important, because(quote me here) there will one day be many forgeries of Yuuji’s work!

Yuuji, 25 x 12.5cm

Bottom detail

A curvaceous cascade or semi cascade, with cloud feet and NO angles…soft and feminine! Maybe even too soft, I find very little of masculine essence here, this pot is suited to a very lithe GoyoMatsu or Shinpaku.

Yuuji, 38 x 30 x 11cm

Interior detail

Strong rectangle with cut feet, minimally rounded lip, sloping sides, and a thick, low, sharpish band. One of the most masculine Gyouzan pictured today. Once again we see those unusual drainage holes, intentionally arranged, this Time in a circle, the contrary of the form it seeks to drain. A true sign of forethought and quality pot artistry. The circle of the drainage and the circle(or cycle) of our trees, and their seasons, the four seasonal corners wherin we enjoy their beauty. It is only when an object CAN mean more than it’s surface appearance that it becomes art in true…do you think this qualifies?

I hope youve enjoyed the marvelous pots by Yuuji and Yukizou.
Ive heard from so many of you in the last couple of weeks, and I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to look and read my mental dribbling about bonsai pottery. To my friends in Spain, “Hola…you guys are SOOOO lucky to have Kevin Wilson around!”. In France “As a Chef, your food rules all, may your tree forays fare as well!” And in Britain, Germany, and the middle union, “Wie Gehts?…thanks for reading!

From my Collection 7

japanesepots — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:36:05 +0000

I am on a posting blitz today! Here are A few more pots from my collection I thought were worth sharing.

Fujikake Yuzan, 4" by 3.5" by 1"

One of the most popular painters of porcelain pots in the modern era, Yuzan’s talents as a potter are equally wonderful. For more information about Yuzan, visit Peter Krebs wonderful site on bonsai pottery.

http://www.bonsaipots.net/index.php?page=yuzan-fujikake

Antique Chinese, circa 1890s 16" by 12" by 2.5"

Detail

A wonderful middle crossing Chinese pot of bright red clay. The feet on this pot are what originally attracted me to it, very ornate and unique.

Yuki Shoseki, 6" by 4" by 1.5"

Rectangle porcelain 5 color sometsuke with cloud feet by Yuki Shoseki. Yuki is the successor to Ishida Shoseki, but has an intricate style of his own. Like his predesesor, his pots are immediately recognizable.

Ryusei, 7.5" by 4.5" by 1.25"

Rectangle by Ryusei with an interesting green, blue, and grey mottled glaze. Ryusei glazes are unique and often thick.

"Zo Shin" 4" by 3" by 1.5"

I know nothing about This potter, but it’s signed “Zo Shin”. I like the white crackle glaze with red glaze accents, and the body of the pot is very thin walled, showing skill. The pot reminds me of similiar pots by Imaoka. Sometimes it’s not about a big name well-known potter, but the quality of the pot itself.