A humble small flaring sake cup by Kako Katsumi, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oribe Guinomi. Modest in scale, the vessel naturally lends itself to shared use—each pour measured and each sip fleeting. In this way, it invites a rhythm of exchange rather than solitary consumption. In traditional practice, sake is not self-poured but offered and received, typically from a tokkuri or katakuchi, the act itself becoming a quiet gesture of regard. One pours for the other, and in turn is poured for—an unspoken dialogue of attentiveness, humility, and trust. The small capacity of the cup reinforces this cadence, ensuring that the moment of refilling—and thus the moment of connection—returns again and again. Such vessels do more than contain sake; they structure an encounter. The warmth of the drink is mirrored in the warmth between those who share it, each exchange marking time not by quantity, but by presence. Measuring 6.3 cm (2-1/2 inches) in diameter and 3.5 cm (1-1/2 inches) in height, the cup is in perfect condition and comes directly from the artist.
Kako Katsumi was born in Kyoto in 1965, and graduated the ceramics department of Saga Art College in 1986. He was selected for the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition, the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition and the Kyoten held at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art in 1988, followed in 1989 by the National Ceramic Art Exhibition and Mino International Ceramics Exhibition. He has since exhibited and or been selected/ awarded many times at these prestigious events. He established his kiln in Nishiwaki City in 1991. In 1994 he worked in Melbourne. Australia, and would create a second kiln in 2001. In 2004 he would be awarded the Prize of Excellence at the Tanabe Museum of Art Modern Tea Forms exhibition. In 2005 he established his current kiln in Sasayama, Hyogo prefecture. In 2009 his work was featured at the Kikuchi Biennale Exhibition and the following year was awarded at the 4th Contemporary Tea Bowls Exhibition, and in 2011 was selected for the influential Paramita Ceramic Exhibition. 2013 saw him in New York, and 2014 at the Museum of Ceramic Art in Hyogo (Kobe). Held in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art among others.
