23002 Living National Treasure Kaneshige Toyo (Bizen teacup)

Height 9.9cm Diameter 8.0cm

[Kanashige Toyo] Born as the son of Kanashige Maiko, the owner of a subsidiary kiln of the Kanashige family of the Bizen Rokugama, he was mentored by his father from an early age and became skilled in pottery techniques, particularly in carved objects and sculptural ornaments. He also devoted himself to research into kiln structure, and in 1921 built a German-style map kiln, which enabled him to successfully fire kiln-changed objects. He also continued his research into clay, and in 1930 he succeeded in recreating the earthenware taste of Momoyama Bizen, and in 1939 he succeeded in kiln-changed firing of Hi-suki, demonstrating his efforts in recreating ancient Bizen ware and his achievements as the father of modern Bizen ware. During this time, he held his first solo exhibition in 1936, and in 1942 he formed the Karahine Society with Arakawa Toyozo, Miwa Kyuwa, Kawakita Handeishi and others. In the same year, he was certified as a qualified technical preservationist, and in 1952 he was selected as an Intangible Cultural Property. In 1954, he formed the Tori Society in Izuyama Tori with Ishiguro Munemaro, Kato Hashimoe, Arakawa Toyozo, Kato Tokuro and others, and in 1956 he was recognized as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) for his Bizen ware.