26110 Living National Treasure Shimizu Uichi Horai Yosaka Cup SHIMIZU Uichi

Height 4.0cm
Diameter 7.6cm

He studied Chinese ceramics under Ishiguro Munemaro, a Living National Treasure for "iron-glazed ceramics." After serving as an apprentice at the National Kyoto Ceramics Testing Center, he served as an assistant in the Ceramics Department at the Kyoto Municipal Industrial Research Institute. He then devoted himself to ceramics, mainly working in his home pottery studio, and was recognized as a Living National Treasure for "iron-glazed ceramics" at the young age of 59, the youngest person ever to do so at the time. This is a masterpiece by Shimizu Uichi, a world-renowned ceramicist who continued to work in his later years, moving his studio to the foot of Mount Horai in Kosai, Shiga Prefecture. This work is so special to Shimizu Uichi that his name is preserved on his works, as it was made at the Horai Kiln, built at the foot of Mount Horai in the lush natural surroundings.

This work, named "Horai Yo," is characterized by a fantastical landscape that spreads from the inside to the rim, and boasts a superbly finished masterpiece with a sharp, thin shape that could cut your hand and the unique sparkling grains of Horai Yo. This work, a must-have piece when talking about Shimizu Uichi, is a work that should be passed down to future generations as a fantastical masterpiece in which the cup comes to life, and is a great masterpiece that continues to shine in the history of Japanese pottery as a sake cup that radiates the "glow" of "Horai (Horai Kiln)."