An incredible pair of antique Japanese Kutani Porcelain sake flasks decorated with Buddhist imagery in vivid color signed on the base Kutani Kyokuzan (Asahiyama) Zo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Butsuga Tokkuri Ittsui.They are 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) tall each, and in excellent condition.
The name Kyokuzan Or Asahiyama came to fame through the hardwork and auspices of Tokuda Tokuji (1818-1877). He was the son of Tokudaya Tokuemon (1792–1873), a ceramic painter at the Kasugayama and Minzan kilns. He learned pottery techniques from his father and later became a craftsman at the Minzan kiln, excelling in the fine red and gold aka-e technique. He used the artist names Saiunrō Kyokuzan or Kutani Kyokuzan (Asahiyama). After the Minzan kiln in Kanazawa was closed around 1844 the last lord of the Kaga domain, Maeda Yoshiyasu, established the domain kiln Tōkisho-nami Tōkikama at the foot of Utatsuyama in 1867 as part of an industrial promotion effort. Tokuda Tokuji worked there and when this domain kiln was closed due to the Meiji Restoration, Tokuji took over the facility, renaming it the Mukoyama kiln and continuing operations independently. It is also known that he traveled to Tokyo to create ceramics. His notable students included his son-in-law, Suwa Sozan I, and Haruna Shigeharu, among others.
