This sakazuki sake cup is the work of Mitsuyoshi Kimura, a potter who continues to work in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, as the third generation of a kiln handed down from his grandfather, Ichirō Kimura, and his father, Mitsuru Kimura. Our shop presents it as a Japanese-style shot glass for savoring vintage spirits a little at a time.
Mitsuyoshi Kimura was born in Mashiko in 1970 and began making pottery under his father, Mitsuru Kimura, in 1994. After his father's death in 1998, he established himself as an independent potter and has presented his work at department stores and galleries including Isetan Matsudo, the Ueno Department Store in Utsunomiya, and Matsuzakaya Ginza. Exhibitions of ceramics and dyeing with his elder sister, the textile dyer Masako Kimura, are also held annually in various locations. In his published biography, the artist notes that he fires a climbing kiln (noborigama) twice a year using only pine firewood as fuel.
His grandfather, Ichirō Kimura (1915–1978), studied at the Ceramics Testing Institute of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Kyoto and went on to build a climbing kiln in Mashiko in 1946. At the 1953 Japan Ceramics Exhibition, he received the Director-General's Prize of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency for his Large Dish with Net Pattern in Persimmon Glaze (Kakiyū Amime-mon Ōzara), and in his later years he worked mainly in copper-red glaze (shinsha) and iron-painted decoration (tetsu-e). Today the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art holds and presents his works, introducing him alongside Shōji Hamada, Tatsuzō Shimaoka, Shōji Kamoda, and others as one of the artists who defined an era in Mashiko. His father, Mitsuru Kimura (1939–1998), trained under his father-in-law, Ichirō, and succeeded to the kiln as its second generation. The maker of this piece belongs to this lineage.
The cup has a mouth that flares outward, a body that narrows gently at the middle, and a band-like step encircling the lower body. When held, the fingers rest naturally at the waist. The exterior is covered in a glossy red-brown glaze, over which irregular white mottled patches are scattered across the entire body. Within each patch, blue bleeds through in varying depths of tone, and the edges are crisply defined, as if outlined with a fine brown line. Shallow vertical undulations on the body and a glaze luster that turns a misty white in places give the cup a different expression from every angle.
The interior is covered in a grayish-white glaze that makes it easy to see the color of the poured spirit, and amber vintage spirits look especially beautiful against it. Throwing marks (rokuro-me) remain in a spiral in the mikomi, the interior well of the cup. The tatami-tsuki, the resting surface of the foot ring, is left unglazed and reveals the texture of the sandy clay as it is, and a square seal mark is impressed on part of it.
The lid of the tomobako, the artist's own signed wooden box, bears the ink inscription "Mashiko-gama, Sakazuki, Mitsuyoshi" with a red seal, and the cup comes with a sanada-himo cord, a protective cloth, and a shiori leaflet recording the artist's career. The year of production is not inscribed. As the final entry in the enclosed biography dates from 2007, we estimate that the cup was made in 2007 or later, around the latter half of the 2000s.
- Artist: Mitsuyoshi Kimura (1970–)
- Major Activities: [1994] Began making pottery under his father, Kimura Mitsuru; [1998] Became independent after his father's death; "Mashiko Kiln Four-Artist Exhibition," Isetan Matsudo; [2001] "Three Generations of the Mashiko Kiln: Ceramics and Dyeing," Isetan Matsudo (held annually thereafter); [2003] "Kimura Mitsuyoshi Ceramic Works Exhibition," Gallery Spotlight, Setagaya; [2005] Permanent display at Matsuzakaya Ginza; solo exhibition at New Mikura, Utsunomiya (held annually thereafter); [2006] "Kimura Mitsuyoshi Ceramic Works Exhibition," Tsukamoto Sakkakan Gallery, Mashiko; [2007] "Three Generations of the Mashiko Kiln Exhibition," Tōgei Messe Mashiko
- Public Collections: No record of the artist's works in public collections has been confirmed
- Period of Production: 2007 or later, around the latter half of the 2000s (estimated from the final year recorded in the enclosed biography)
- Condition: Very good (no chips, no cracks)
- Accessories: Original tomobako (with sanada-himo cord), protective cloth, and shiori leaflet included
- Material: Glazed pottery
- Dimensions: Height approx. 5.0 cm, Mouth diameter approx. 7.0 cm
- Note: All items offered by our shop, even those that are new and unused, were produced a very long time ago and are therefore listed as pre-owned goods. Items may show damage due to age; please understand and confirm this before considering a purchase.
