24857 Living National Treasure Yoshida Minori (Gold-painted Flower Arabesque Design Sake Cup) YOSHIDA Minori

Height 4.6cm

Diameter 6.1cm

A work by Living National Treasure Yoshida Mito. He inherited the unique red-painted gold brocade style of Kutani ware, and in 1951 became the third generation owner of his family business, Kinzan Kiln, where he mastered traditional Kutani painting techniques. After encountering the work of Kato Hachimoe, who used the underglaze gold painting technique, he decided to incorporate that technique into his own pottery. The base is painted with traditional Kutani color paint and then fired to create the base color, and two types of gold leaf cut into patterns are placed on top and fired, and then a transparent glaze is applied all over the surface to finish it off. He conducted his own research into each process and refined his techniques. In 1970, he exhibited the "Hyakunin Isshu Large Vase" as a representative of Ishikawa Prefecture at the Japan World Exposition. After being selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition in 1974, he received the Takamatsunomiya Memorial Award (1992), the Japan Ceramic Association Award (1995), and the Japan Crafts Association Holder's Award (2000) at the same exhibition. In 1979, his underglaze gold leaf bowl was selected for purchase by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and his acclaim grew. As a leading figure in underglaze gold leaf, he was recognized as a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property on July 12, 2001, and was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal in the same year.