Shinogi Tsubo ー古谷 剛敏 “信楽 自然釉 鎬壷”

A striking modern take on the traditional Shigaraki Tsubo by Furutani Taketoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Shizen-yu Shinogi Tsubo. The tsubo itself weighs 8 kilograms (18 pounds).  It is 33 cm (13 inches) diameter, 38 cm (15 inches) tall and in excellent condition, directly from the artist.

Furutani Taketoshi was born the son of master craftsman Furutani Hirofumi in 1974, graduating the Shigaraki Industrial High School Ceramics department in 1992 before entering the Shiga prefectural Ceramics Research Facility where he learned first Small Rokuro wheel technique, graduating the following year. In 1993 he would find himself under the tutelage of Suzuki Iwau before re-entering for a second course at the Research Facility, graduating in 1995. From then he returned to the family kiln where he learned in the time-honored tradition from both his grandfather Churoku I and father Hirofumi (Churokuk II).  In 2013 he was named a Dento Kogeishi Traditional Craftsman.  Since he has exhibited consistently at the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition.  Subverting the self, he makes simple, organic pots which have a timeless quality. As well he dares new forms and challenges the clay with innovative techniques, coercing from the pliable earth challenging incarnations very much rooted in the now, yet still paying homage to the traditions passed down through the ages.