An Oribe Tofukuji

Oribe glazes are characterized by thick glassy green and greenish-blue colors, with variations and dappled with silver speckles. The old wood-fired kilns no longer in use today made for some of the most dramatic oribe glazes. The glaze was first developed in Japan in the 16th century. Heian Tofukuji, Mizuno Kizaburo was well-known as a master of these glazes, is are often imitated by his contemporaries, Ino Shukuho, to a lesser degree, Kouzan; and later by Koyo and Bushuan.

The pot arrived from Kyoto well-packaged, and clearly never opened for inspection, as I doubt it would have been repacked as carefully as it arrived.

And even still, it was stuck in customs for almost a week, so when it arrived I was like…

First look was pretty good. It had more blue tones than I was expecting, which suits me just fine.

This is the largest Tofukuji pot I have personally seen, at nearly 11” wide, 9 3/4” deep and 2” high. it is usable, and I can picture it with this Japanese maple clump one day as it ages.

Next are a few shots with some studio lights and darker background. The foot detail is amazing.

In the Tofukuji book, there are only a few examples of this stepped cloud foot design.

Also, complete with just a little glaze drip on the inside of the pot.

Unboxing: New Tofukuji Pot

Here is an interesting piece that found its way from Kyoto to Birmingham recently. The shape is considered a pinch-pot, or teribeneri round, featuring an unusual multi-colored glaze. Mizuno Kizaburo made pots under the trade name of Heian Tofukuji in Kyoto. His work is recognized as among the best of bonsai potters around the world.

Interestingly, the inside bottom is dimpled and glazed with a clear coat as well.

From “the book” of Tofukuji pots, here is one with a similar glaze, bare feet with white over red over black.

One more example of the glaze type from Matt Ouwinga, which was likely sold years ago, that I should have grabbed!

And the collection grows. Wait til you see the next one…

Losing…pots

Last night, in the midst of a heat wave, our neighborhood was hit with “all the things” as my daughter put it. 95 degrees, high winds, rain, dime-sized hail, sultry sunshine, all with a rainbow in the Southeast sky. We had numerous trees down, including two blocking the entrance to our neighborhood, and several others that knocked out power to parts of our area. We were spared, but still suffered a little tree damage. Koyo fans, avert your eyes.

The next morning, I brought it in to replace the pot. Bear in mind, here is our forecast.

I removed the pot, incidentally, the first Koyo pot I bought, first nice shohin pot, and the first pot I bought from Ryan Bell the first time I met the man back around 2011. not to mention, I really liked the pot.

Clearly no way of repairing the pot, I will keep the big pieces and try to think of something clever to make from it one day. For now, on to new pots. I tried this Bunzan pot, a Tofukuji tribute.

It was slightly too small, and I wanted to give it plenty of opportunity to survive in the heat wave, so into another Koyo it goes.

And the money shot…