{"product_id":"large-lnt-okinawan-tsubo-ー金城-次郎-壺","title":"Large LNT Okinawan Tsubo ー金城 次郎 “壺”","description":"\u003cp\u003eA large and particularly expressive Museum Quality Okinawan vessel by Living National Treasure Kinjo Jirō, enclosed in its original signed wooden box titled simply Tsubo (Jar). The generously rounded body rises into a long, narrowing neck before opening dramatically at the mouth, its strong silhouette providing a broad field for Kinjo’s celebrated fish decoration. Large fish leap and turn around the vessel, vigorously drawn in kaki-otoshi incised lines and enlivened with iron-brown and blue-green glazes, their scales, fins and sweeping contours animated by the visible movement of the artist’s hand. Geometric bands encircle the shoulder and lower body, while the flaring mouth is covered in a richly mottled turquoise, green and brown glaze that pools and runs irregularly over the rim. Particularly impressive at this scale is the freedom of Kinjo’s drawing: the fish are not confined within formal panels but seem to swim continuously around the swelling body, giving the vessel movement from every angle. It measures 20.5 cm (8 inches) in diameter and 39.5 cm (15-1\/2 inches) tall and is in perfect condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKinjo Jirō (1912–2004) was a master of Okinawan Tsuboya ware and the first ceramic artist from the Ryukyu Islands to be designated a Living National Treasure in 1985. Born in Naha, he revitalized the Tsuboya tradition, a ceramic lineage shaped by both Chinese and Japanese influences, and became renowned for his bold, freehand underglaze brushwork in iron-oxide slip beneath translucent glaze. His vessels, often adorned with motifs of fish, birds, and flowers, embody a rustic vitality and spirited expressiveness aligned with the ideals of the Mingei (folk craft) movement. Kinjo’s work preserved the distinct identity of Okinawan pottery while establishing its recognition within the wider sphere of Japanese ceramics. Today his works are represented in major collections, including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, the Okinawa Prefectural Museum, the Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Nihon Mingeikan), and the British Museum, ensuring his enduring legacy within both Japanese and international ceramic history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kinjo Jiro","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51311020802295,"sku":"MC1612","price":410800.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/7472\/3063\/files\/2026-04-0715.35.44.jpg?v=1791964284","url":"https:\/\/kuramonzen.com\/products\/large-lnt-okinawan-tsubo-%e3%83%bc%e9%87%91%e5%9f%8e-%e6%ac%a1%e9%83%8e-%e5%a3%ba","provider":"Kura Monzen Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}