{"product_id":"bizen-yaki-tsutsugata-hanaire-yamamoto-yuichi-showa-hi-iro-sangiri-anagama","title":"Bizen Yaki Tsutsugata Hanaire | Yamamoto Yūichi | Showa | Hi-iro Sangiri Anagama","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eBizen (備前焼) is Japan's most uncompromising ceramic tradition. No glaze has ever touched a Bizen vessel — only iron-rich clay from the Inbe district of Okayama Prefecture (備前市伊部), wood fire sustained over ten to fourteen days in an \u003cem\u003eanagama\u003c\/em\u003e (穴窯) tunnel kiln, and the complete surrender of outcome to flame and atmosphere. The potter controls placement, temperature, and stoking rhythm. Everything else — every color, every texture, every transition of tone across the surface — is written by the kiln. This is \u003cem\u003eyaki-jime\u003c\/em\u003e (焼き締め) at its most rigorous, and it is why Bizen has been numbered among Japan's \u003cem\u003eNihon Rokko-yō\u003c\/em\u003e (日本六古窯 — Six Ancient Kilns) since the Heian period. The post-war Showa revival transformed Bizen from a folk tradition into a fine-art discipline, as studio potters working in the lineage of Living National Treasure Kaneshige Tōyō (金重陶陽) reclaimed the kiln's ancient vocabulary with individual artistic intent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThis \u003cem\u003etsutsugata hanaire\u003c\/em\u003e (筒形花入 — cylindrical flower vase) is a signed studio work by \u003cstrong\u003eYamamoto Yūichi\u003c\/strong\u003e (山本雄一), a Showa-period Bizen studio ceramicist. The signature is written in iron-oxide brushwork directly onto the raw clay base before firing — the classical \u003cem\u003efude-gaki\u003c\/em\u003e (筆書き) practice by which a Bizen potter declares personal authorship. A secondary incised kiln mark (\u003cem\u003ekizami\u003c\/em\u003e, 刻み) — three parallel diagonal strokes cut into the clay before firing — accompanies the signature, identifying the piece's position within the anagama batch. Together, these marks confirm this is an intentional studio work, not workshop production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe cylindrical form is resolved with quiet confidence: straight walls rise from a flat unglazed base, the shoulder narrows subtly, and the wide rim opens cleanly — a silhouette that refuses ornament and lets the fire speak. Three of Bizen's canonical fire effects are present in conversation. \u003cstrong\u003eHi-iro\u003c\/strong\u003e (火色 — fire-scarlet) saturates the upper body and shoulder in warm red-brown where the anagama's direct flame touched the clay. \u003cstrong\u003eSangiri\u003c\/strong\u003e (桟切 — blue-gray reduction) appears dramatically across the lower body, where oxygen was trialled out during the slow cool-down — the most prized and least predictable of Bizen's atmospherics. \u003cstrong\u003eGoma\u003c\/strong\u003e (胡麻 — sesame ash) scatters golden-olive deposits across the mid-section, where burning pine ash landed, melted, and fused into the clay surface. A darker oxidation band at the rim records the final moments of the firing cycle. No two sides of the vase carry the same atmosphere — the anagama rotates its narrative around each piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe tsutsugata is the preferred form for \u003cem\u003enageire\u003c\/em\u003e (投げ入れ) ikebana — free-thrown stems dropped loosely into the vessel in the spirit of \u003cem\u003ejiyūka\u003c\/em\u003e (自由花), the style championed by the Ohara school. A single branch of plum blossom, a stem of dried grass, or a spray of autumn leaves placed in this vase requires no floral foam, no mechanics — the rough clay surface holds the stem at the angle the hand releases it. For the collector, a signed Showa Bizen studio piece with full fire narrative is a document of both the kiln's ancient fire and one craftsman's hand and name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe vase is in excellent structural condition — no cracks, chips, or repairs. All surface marks are authentic fire effects. Base clay shows natural age-appropriate wear. Signed and kiln-marked.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chikoyaki","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45315235446863,"sku":"CHK-CER-BIZ-202605-002","price":230.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6588\/1423\/files\/IMG_5332_result.jpg?v=1779894320","url":"https:\/\/chikoyaki.com\/products\/bizen-yaki-tsutsugata-hanaire-yamamoto-yuichi-showa-hi-iro-sangiri-anagama","provider":"Chikoyaki","version":"1.0","type":"link"}