An unusual Hagi incense burner by Living National Treasure Miwa Kyūsetsu X, later known as Kyūwa, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hagi-yaki Uri Kōro. The rounded vessel stands upon three small feet and is covered with an exuberant trailing vine modeled in relief, its curling tendrils, broad leaves, blossoms and swelling gourds wandering freely around the body. A softly translucent Hagi glaze pools milky white around the raised decoration while thinning elsewhere to reveal the warm pink and ochre tones of the clay beneath, the entire surface crossed by a fine network of crackle. The domed lid continues the botanical design and is pierced with irregular openings through which the incense smoke escapes. Elaborate in conception yet restrained by the quiet palette of Hagi ware, the piece balances the profusion of its vine decoration with the softness and subtle variation of the glaze. Miwa's impressed seal appears beneath the vessel. It measures 11.5 cm (4-1/2 inches) in diameter and 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) tall and is in excellent condition.
I particularly like this piece. It feels rather different from the austere tea wares for which Kyūwa is most familiar: almost playful, yet the restrained Hagi palette prevents the elaborate relief from becoming decorative excess. The contrast between the profusion of the vine and the quietness of the glaze is really what makes it work.
Miwa Kyusetsu X (1896-1977) was born the second son of Miwa Setsudo IX in a long line of Hagi potters. He began potting at the age of 14, and succeeded the family name in 1927. In the pre- and post-war years, he was a leader in reviving Hagi pottery (and his name is associated with the other great revivalists Kawakita Handeishi, Arakawa Toyozo and Kaneshige Toyo). He is most known for his excellence in creating traditional Zen Tea ware, and his bowls are some of the most sought after in Japan. He took the name Kyuwa in 1967, passing the torch on to the 11th generation of the family. It was Kyusetsu who reinvigorated the Hagi craft movement in the mid Showa era for which he received the prestigious title of Mukei Bunkazai (Living National Treasure) in 1970. The first Living National Treasure of Hagi.
