Vintage Japanese Kiyomizu-yaki Vase, Hand Painted Plum Blossom, Kyoto Ceramic

Kiyomizu-yaki takes its name from Kyoto's Kiyomizu-dera temple district — Higashiyama and the Gojōzaka slope leading up to it, where potters' workshops have clustered for centuries, selling directly to the pilgrims and visitors who climbed the hill. Unlike ceramic traditions defined by a single glaze or clay, Kiyomizu-yaki is better understood as a school of refined, hand-applied overglaze enamel painting on porcelain and stoneware — precisely what this rounded jar-form vase demonstrates.

Across its ivory, finely crackled surface, branches of plum blossom (ume, 梅) wind their way around the body, each flower rendered in soft coral-pink with a burst of yellow stamens at its center. Plum blossom holds a particular place in Japanese seasonal art: unlike cherry blossom, which arrives with spring's full warmth, ume flowers push open in the last cold weeks of winter, making the motif a long-standing symbol of quiet resilience and the promise of renewal. Scattered patches of gold dusting drift between the branches, a decorative device often paired with plum motifs to suggest morning mist or the last traces of snow.

This piece carries direct confirmation of its origin: a small gold kiln label reading "清水焼" (Kiyomizu-yaki) remains affixed near the rim, identifying it plainly as Kyoto ware rather than requiring guesswork. The base also bears a stamped seal, though we're noting honestly that its exact characters aren't legible enough in our photographs to attribute it to a specific named workshop — what's certain, thanks to the label, is the ceramic tradition it belongs to.

Its rounded, full-bellied form with a short banded neck is a classic decorative vase shape, equally suited to standing empty as a piece of painted ceramic art or holding a single seasonal branch in the spirit of the plum blossoms painted on its surface. For collectors building a picture of Kyoto's ceramic output specifically — distinct from Kutani, Arita, or Satsuma ware — this piece offers a clearly labeled, genuine example.

Shipped with care from our studio in Hanoi. Fine glaze crazing and small age marks are original to the piece and part of its authentic character.