Birth-Family Kiln of Living National Treasure Miura Koheiji – Mumyoi Jozan Kohei Kiln, Sado – Kiln Work – Footed Sake Cup, Japanese Shot Glass – As-Is (Chipped and Cracked Rim), Ideal for Kintsugi #489

This is a footed sake cup from Mumyoi Jozan Kohei Kiln (Kohei-gama), a pottery workshop in Sado, Niigata Prefecture. The rim has a chip and a crack, so the cup is offered as-is, without accessories, on the assumption that it will be repaired with kintsugi or a similar method. Kohei Kiln was founded by Miura Kohei, the father of the potter Miura Koheiji, who was designated a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) for celadon. Miura Koheiji was the second-generation head of the kiln. However, this cup cannot be definitively attributed to Miura Koheiji himself, and we present it as a work of Kohei Kiln. The inside of the foot is impressed with the kiln mark “Kohei.” According to our research, the potter’s seal on Miura’s personal works reads “Ko,” and the seal used in his box inscriptions reads “Koheiji.” Both differ from the kiln mark on this cup.

According to a leaflet issued by Kohei Kiln, “mumyoi,” the word that precedes the kiln’s name, is a type of iron-oxide mineral earth found in the gold and silver mine shafts of the Sado mines. Since ancient times it has been used in China and Japan as a medicinal substance. In the 11th year of Meiji (1878), Miura Jozan I used this earth to improve what had until then been a soft-bodied ware, and he created a hard-fired red-purple clay ware (shushidei-yaki), known as Mumyoi ware. Under Jozan III, the ware became one of Sado’s industries and was widely distributed both in Japan and abroad. Kohei I, the son of Jozan III, carried on the family business while also studying fine-art painting. He founded Kohei Kiln and named it after Koheiji, the given name of Jozan I.

Miura Koheiji, the second generation, was born in 1933 in Aikawa, now part of Sado City, Niigata Prefecture. He studied under Hirakushi Denchu in the Sculpture Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts, and he studied ceramics under Kato Hajime. His work moved from ash-glazed ceramics to Jun ware and finally to celadon. In 1976 he received the Minister of Education Award at the 23rd Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition. The award-winning “Large Celadon Bowl” was thrown thinly on the wheel from the red shudei clay of Sado and coated generously with a bright bluish-white celadon glaze. He later developed a distinctive style of painting scenes from across Asia and Africa in overglaze enamels on celadon.

Miura received the Japan Ceramic Society Award Gold Prize in 1993, the Grand Prize in the Crafts Category of the MOA Mokichi Okada Award in 1994, and the Japan Kogei Association Holders’ Prize in 1995. In 1996 he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon. In 1997 he was designated a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property. According to Sado City materials, he was the first potter to receive this designation in the field of celadon. He became a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1990. In 2000 he was named professor emeritus of the university and head professor of the Ceramics Department at Bunsei University of Art. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 73. His works are held in collections including the National Crafts Museum (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, the Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, and The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts.

This sake cup has a hemispherical bowl on a tall foot that flares slightly toward the base. It is wheel-thrown from a reddish-brown clay body and glazed. The area around the foot rim is unglazed, so the reddish-brown clay is exposed there. The exterior is covered with a calm green glaze, and the rim is edged in reddish brown. The interior is glazed in a milky white with a pale yellowish tinge, with fine crackle throughout. Throwing marks swirl across the inner surface of the bowl. There is one small round hole on the side of the foot, which can also be seen from inside the foot.

There is one small chip on the rim, and a crack runs from the chip toward the interior. Light staining can be seen along the crack. The interior crackle also shows slight staining, and there are small black specks on the exterior glaze. The chip and crack on the rim are in a position and of a size that kintsugi could turn into an attractive feature. If you intend to drink from the cup, we recommend having it repaired before use. Please check the condition in the images.

• Artist: Mumyoi Jozan Kohei Kiln (小平窯、Kohei-gama) *The second-generation head was Miura Koheiji (1933–2006). This is a kiln work that cannot be definitively attributed to Miura Koheiji himself.
  
• Selected Career Highlights (Miura Koheiji, Second Generation): [1933] Born in Aikawa, Sado District, Niigata Prefecture (now Sado City); [1955] Graduated from the Sculpture Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts; [1976] Minister of Education Award, 23rd Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition (Large Celadon Bowl); [1990] Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts; [1993] Japan Ceramic Society Award Gold Prize; [1994] Grand Prize in the Crafts Category, MOA Mokichi Okada Award; [1995] Japan Kogei Association Holders’ Prize, 42nd Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition; [1996] Medal with Purple Ribbon; [1997] Designated Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property for Celadon (Living National Treasure); [2000] Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University of the Arts, and Head Professor, Ceramics Department, Bunsei University of Art; [2006] Exhibition “Fifty Years of Pottery: Living National Treasure Miura Koheiji” (Mitsukoshi Nihombashi and Niigata Mitsukoshi), passed away the same year
  
• Public Collections (Works by Miura Koheiji): National Crafts Museum (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo); The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art; Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum; The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts; Sado City; Kunitachi City
  
• Date: c. 2000–2006
  
• Condition: As-is (one chip on the rim, with a crack extending from the chip toward the interior)
  Included: None
  
• Medium: Pottery (reddish-brown clay body, glazed)
  
• Dimensions: H approx. 5.0 cm, W approx. 5.8 cm, D approx. 5.8 cm
  
• Please Note: Although some of our items may be new and unused, all are listed as pre-owned because they were produced a very long time ago. Items may show signs of age-related wear. Please understand and check the condition before considering a purchase.