Dragonfly incense burner by Bunsai Ogawa (5th generation)

Width: 11.0cm x 11.0cm Height: 13.0cm

A poem in red clay, engraved with a prayer for flight

The Dragonfly Incense Burner, created by Ogawa Bunsai V, is a poetic and spiritual piece, delicately depicting a dragonfly, a symbol of light and airy life, within a rounded form filled with the warmth of red clay. When we stand in front of this incense burner, we cannot help but feel the prayers of peace and hope, and the vibrant energy of life, that go beyond the mere act of burning incense.

The entire vessel is made of a moist reddish-brown base, its simple, quiet texture evoking a sense of nostalgia. Against this surface, countless dragonflies are depicted in black lines, flitting about lively. Their wings are rendered in a meticulous grid pattern, each one given a different posture and angle, creating the impression of a swarm flying through the sky. While the composition is decorative, it walks the line between precise realism and abstraction, and the refined sensibility embedded in Bunsai's lines truly shines through.

The white finish on the lid gives it a slightly rough impression, but it sits firmly in place like a turned piece, and the knob retains a warm earthen finish that echoes the red of the body. The overall shape is a stable tripod structure, but gives off a somewhat organic and soft impression, and the pursuit of aesthetic beauty ensures that it fits comfortably in the user's hand.

The spirit of Godai entrusted to the dragonfly

The dragonfly motif has been known as the "winning insect" in Japan since ancient times, and has been considered a symbol of good fortune because it only flies forward. However, for Ogawa Bunsai V, the dragonfly was more than just a symbol of good fortune. It was connected on a deeper level to his own thoughts as an artist who lived through the post-war era and longed for peace.

Godai, who grew up in the chaos of the post-war period and continued to seek spiritual depth in pottery, associated the flight of a dragonfly with images of "freedom" and "hope." Furthermore, the delicate structure of its wings and its movement as it cuts through the wind truly symbolize "silence cutting through space," making it an extremely symbolic design that gives dynamism to a static vessel like an incense burner.

His career and achievements as a ceramic artist

The fifth generation Ogawa Bunsai (real name Kinji) was born in 1926 into a family of ceramic artists in Gojozaka, Kyoto, and was familiar with the world of ceramics from an early age. His artistic merit has been highly praised both at home and abroad, with his work being selected for the Nitten exhibition for the first time in 1950, winning first place at the Contemporary Japanese Ceramics Exhibition in 1974, and the Grand Prix at the Vallauris International Ceramics Exhibition in France in 1975.

In 1989, he succeeded to the name of Bunsai V, and from 1991 to 1995 he served as president of Kyoto College of Art, where he also devoted himself to nurturing the next generation. Throughout this time, he has consistently maintained a stance of challenging himself to explore new realms of beauty while building on the traditional techniques of Kyoto ware.

The foundation of creative work is a desire for peace

The fifth generation Ogawa Bunsai always said, "I put all my effort into creating what I consider beautiful," which meant that his works themselves were a form of prayer. In particular, an incense burner like this one contains invisible "memories of the heart" and "layers of time" along with the incense smoke that rises quietly, creating a dialogue between the person and the vessel every time it is used.

The attempt to paint dragonflies on the entire surface of the incense burner visualizes this prayer, and by letting it reside on the surface of the vessel, it creates a gentleness that gently lights a fire in the hearts of those who view and use it.

Through his works, he conveys his message to us who live in the present.

This work, Dragonfly Incense Burner, is not something that should simply be stored as a masterpiece of the past, but one that still has the power to speak to each of us today. Its quietly standing round shape and the light figures of the dragonflies flapping their wings convey a message of the preciousness of time, of "being here and now," and of hope for the future.

Please take the time to listen carefully to the spirit of peace and beauty that Ogawa Bunsai V entrusted to this incense burner. There is surely something important that we must never forget quietly living within it.