Vintage Bizen Ware Bud Vase, Long Neck Round Body, Unglazed Japanese Stoneware Ikebana Hanaire

A ROUND VASE, A LONG NECK, AND A SURFACE WRITTEN BY FIRE

No glaze was applied to this vase. The matte blue-grey ash on its shoulders and the glassy olive-green drips near its base were produced by wood ash and flame inside the kiln. This is a Japanese bud vase (一輪挿し, ichirin-zashi) in the tokkuri (徳利) silhouette, with a round body, a long gently tapering neck and a flared lip, made in the Bizen ware tradition (備前焼) of Okayama, Japan.

QUICK FACTS
• Type: Japanese bud vase / flower vase (花入, hanaire), tokkuri-shaped (徳利形)
• Ware: Bizen-yaki (備前焼), unglazed yakishime (焼締め) stoneware
• Tradition: Imbe (伊部), Bizen City, Okayama Prefecture
• Kiln effects: ash-covered grey surface (sangiri-type) and goma (胡麻), natural ash glaze in olive green
• Base: flat, unglazed, iron-speckled clay body
• Maker / kiln mark: [unsigned, maker not identified / describe seal or inscription]
• Age: vintage, [estimate, only if supported]
• Condition: [describe rim, neck, base, chips, repairs, kiln scars]

CLAY FIRST, FIRE SECOND, FORM THIRD
Bizen potters have a saying: "one clay, two firing, three form" (一土、二焼け、三形). Bizen clay is dug from the bottom of rice paddies between Imbe and Kagato and is called hiyose (ひよせ). It is rich in iron and organic matter, aged outdoors for one to two years and refined before it is shaped. That iron-rich clay is what reacts with flame to produce the colors you see here.

THE KILN EFFECTS ON THIS VASE
Bizen colors come from where a piece sits in the kiln and how ash, flame and smoke reach it. Goma (胡麻) forms when pine ash melts at high heat and fuses into a natural glaze. Sangiri (桟切) is the soft grey to dark-grey tone produced when ash builds up and smoke reaches the surface. Here both appear on one vessel: olive glassy ash at the foot, matte slate grey above. No two pieces are alike.

AN OLD BIZEN SAYING ABOUT FLOWERS
In Japan, a folk saying has long held that flowers last longer in Bizen vases. The unglazed surface has fine pores, and the earth tone makes a single stem stand out. This is tradition, not a promise, but it is a charming reason to put one branch in a vase like this.

BIZEN IN JAPANESE CULTURE
Bizen is counted among Japan's Six Ancient Kilns (日本六古窯) and is regarded as the oldest. Tea masters of the Momoyama period valued its plain, unglazed beauty as an expression of wabi-sabi. Bizen was designated a Traditional Craft of Japan in 1982, and the Six Ancient Kilns became a Japan Heritage story in 2017.

DISPLAY AND USE
Best for one to three stems, ikebana, dried grasses or a bare twig. Because Bizen is unglazed, use a glass or plastic liner for fresh flowers. Wipe with a soft, damp cloth and avoid soap, which can leave a film on unglazed clay.

CONDITION AND AUTHENTICITY
Sold as a vintage Bizen ware vase, Rough ash texture, small pits and natural kiln marks are part of wood-fired Bizen and are not defects. Please review all photos and ask any question before buying.