Kawajiri Hiroshi (川尻浩史) Blue-Glazed Tea Bowl (Seiyu Chawan), Mashiko Ware, Kazegama, Matcha Bowl, Tomobako & Tomonuno Cloth, Japanese-Style Rocks Glass, Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition & Faenza Competition Selected #540

This is a blue-glazed tea bowl (seiyu chawan) by Kawajiri Hiroshi (川尻浩史, 1946–), a potter of Mashiko ware. On a generous bowl form that keeps its throwing rings, a pale blue glaze flows down from the rim, and its lower edge circles the body as a fine, wave-like line of bluish purple. Over the lower half spreads a yellowish glaze, where small black iron specks and soft blushes of green and pale pink, born where the glazes melted into each other, give the bowl a different landscape from every angle. The lid of the signed wooden box (tomobako) is inscribed 「青釉茶碗」 (blue-glazed tea bowl) and signed 「浩史」 (Hiroshi), with a red square seal in which the character 「川」 is carved in white. The bowl also comes with a thick blue wrapping cloth embroidered with the artist's name, 「川尻」 (Kawajiri).

In the hand, the steps of the throwing rings around the body rest gently against the fingers. Swirling throwing marks remain in the well (mikomi), and the glaze pooled at the bottom has a glassy sheen. The foot was trimmed and left unglazed; inside the foot ring are spiral trimming marks and a small raised center (tokin). Around the foot, two triangular areas were left free of glaze, and the contrast between the reddish clay and the blue and yellow glazes is one of the highlights of this bowl.

Kawajiri Hiroshi was born in 1946 in Moseushi, Hokkaido. In 1967 the artist entered the Sudo kiln in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, to train, later became independent and established Kazegama (風窯), a climbing-kiln pottery. Kawajiri was selected for the 17th Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition in 1970, and in 1985 for both the 43rd Faenza International Ceramics Competition in Italy and the 8th Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition. Active abroad from early on, the artist had a work purchased by the Museum of Modern Ceramics in Deidesheim, West Germany, in 1982, according to the leaflet that accompanies #427 by the same artist. Later, Kawajiri received the Shinnichibi Grand Prize at the Shinnichibi Exhibition in 2005.

With a mouth of about 13.5 cm and a height of about 8.0 cm, the bowl is a comfortable size for matcha, and the green of whisked tea should look lovely against the pale blue glaze. We also propose it as a Japanese-style rocks glass: float a large ice ball in it and slowly savor old-bottle whisky or long-aged spirits. Held in both hands, it lets you fully enjoy the rise and fall of the throwing rings and the feel of the glaze.

About the damage to the box: One side board of the box lid is missing, so a gap remains on that side even when the lid is closed (images 64–67). The lid stays in place once the cord is tied, but please consider the purchase with this damage to the box in mind. The bowl itself has no chips.

• Artist: Kawajiri Hiroshi (川尻浩史, 1946–) / Kazegama (風窯), Mashiko, Haga District, Tochigi
• Career Highlights: [1946] Born in Moseushi, Hokkaido; [1967] Trained at the Sudō kiln (須藤窯) in Mashiko, later became independent; [1970] Selected for the 17th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition / selected for the Japan New Craft Exhibition (日本ニュークラフト展); [1971] Superintendent of Education Prize, Hokkaido Exhibition (北海道展); [1972, 1973, 1979, 1980] Selected for the Traditional Kōgei New Works Exhibition; [1974] Solo exhibition at a gallery in New York (コウディギャラリー); [1975] Encouragement Prize, Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition; [1976] Began solo exhibitions at the Odakyu Department Store in Shinjuku; [1977, 1982] Selected for the Traditional Kōgei Musashino Exhibition; [1978] Selected for the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition / selected for the 2nd North Kantō Art Exhibition; [1980] Attended an international craft conference in Vienna / built a climbing kiln in Königslutter, West Germany; [1982] Work purchased by the Museum of Modern Ceramics in Deidesheim, West Germany / two-person exhibition at the Mashiko Gallery in Berlin; [1983] Selected for the 4th North Kantō Art Exhibition / invited to the Tochigi Prefecture Artists' Current Works Exhibition (栃木県美術家現況展) / group exhibition in West Germany; [1984] Exhibited at an international ceramics exhibition in Zagreb (former Yugoslavia); [1985] Selected for the 8th Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition / selected for the 43rd International Competition of Contemporary Ceramic Art in Faenza; [1989] Invited to an exhibition of seven contemporary Japanese potters at a museum in Braunschweig, Germany; [1999] Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education Prize, Shin-Nichibi Exhibition; [2002] Special Selection, Shin-Nichibi Exhibition; [2005] Shin-Nichibi Grand Prize, Shin-Nichibi Exhibition; [2006] Nominated as a juror for the craft section of the Shin-Nichibi Exhibition
• Public Collections: Museum of Modern Ceramics, Deidesheim (West Germany; purchased in 1982), according to the leaflet that accompanies #427 by the same artist
• Date: Unconfirmed (the box bears no date)
• Condition: Bowl: Very Good (no chips, no cracks). Please regard the crazing that forms in firing, other characteristics of ceramics and the patina of age as part of the pleasure of an antique piece. Box: one side board of the lid is missing (images 64–67).
• Accompanied by: Signed wooden box (lid inscribed 「青釉茶碗」, signed 「浩史」 with a red seal; one side board of the lid is missing), wrapping cloth (thick blue cloth embroidered with 「川尻」)
• Medium: Ceramics (Mashiko ware)
• Dimensions: Height approx. 8.0 cm, rim diameter (width) approx. 13.5 cm
• Please Note: Even if the products provided by our shop are unused, they were produced a very long time ago and are all listed as pre-owned items. Please understand and confirm that the item may have age-related wear before considering your purchase.
• About the Photographs: We prepare every description with great care, but errors may still remain in the text. Please examine the photos carefully before purchasing. Where the photos and the description differ, please take the photos as the basis for the product information.