Gosu incense burner by Shin Fujihira

Width 9cm x Height 19cm

A conversation with Yasushi Fujihira

The beauty of the fantastic "Gosu incense burner"

The Gosu Incense Burner is a poetic piece by the ceramicist Shin Fujihira, and its shape is fantastical, like a tower that came out of a picture book. Its rectangular, slender form combines elegance and warmth, creating a design that evokes a certain nostalgia.
In addition, a pale gosu glaze is applied to the surface, giving it a beautiful, transparent blue glow. This blue color changes its expression subtly depending on the way the light hits it and the viewpoint, making it appealing enough to make you want to look at it forever. The gentle texture of the clay itself also gives the whole piece a soft impression, and the perfect fusion of the clay color and the gosu blue is a major feature of this incense burner.

The simple yet poetic design of the Gosu Incense Burner allows it to blend naturally into any location, such as the entrance hall, an office desk, or a living room. This piece combines practicality with artistic value, and shows how Shin Fujihira was adept at linking the everyday with art.

What is Gosu: The Magic of Blue that Colors Ceramics

Gosu is a traditional blue pigment used for underglaze painting on ceramics. Its main component is cobalt oxide, and it contains trace elements such as iron, manganese, and nickel, which produces a vivid indigo-blue or purple-blue color when fired . This blue color holds an important place in the history of Japanese ceramics, and is an essential material in the dyeing techniques of Arita ware and Hasami ware in particular.

Gosu can be broadly divided into natural and synthetic. Natural gosu is extracted from mines as "gosu clay" and is characterized by its natural flavor due to the balance of the ingredients it contains. On the other hand, synthetic gosu is made from a chemical mixture that mainly contains cobalt, but the coloring can be less stable than natural gosu. This instability can also be appreciated as a "flavor."

The appeal of gosu lies in the handiwork of the artisans who paint it, and the unpredictable changes that occur during firing . The different colors of each piece give each piece of ceramics a unique personality, and the characteristic that "no two pieces are the same." The "Gosu Incense Burner" also makes use of this characteristic, expressing calculated beauty amidst chance.

Shin Fujihira: Uniqueness as a Poet of Ceramic

He is an artist who has established a unique position in the field of contemporary ceramics as a "poet of ceramics." Born as the second son of a ceramics company in Gojozaka, Kyoto, Fujihira was familiar with ceramics from an early age, and after overcoming an illness, he began making ceramics in earnest. His works go beyond mere vessels; by incorporating elements of sculpture and painting, he has developed a unique worldview that is poetic and rich in narrative .

His style shows the influence of ancient Chinese Ming wares and figurines (burial goods buried in tombs). In particular, the Gosu Incense Burner, with its tower-like shape and elegant decoration, exudes a poetic charm reminiscent of the architectural style of the Tang dynasty in China. Furthermore, Tohei pursued new forms of expression in pottery by using free techniques such as hand-twisting and Tatara molding, rather than using a potter's wheel. The lines are hard yet warm, and while he uses traditional techniques such as gosu and ash glaze, he exudes a modern sensibility that transcends those traditional techniques . The Gosu Incense Burner is another piece that symbolizes how multifaceted Tohei's creativity is.

The Poetic Elegance and Practicality of the Gosu Incense Burner

This incense burner has artistic value as a work of pottery, and is also practical. When used as an incense burner, it spreads a gentle fragrance into your daily life, while its beautiful design provides visual healing. In particular, the tower-like shape decorated with the blue gosu brings a fantastic atmosphere to the space. This work, which is loved by many people as both an interior and practical item, shows how rich the possibilities of pottery are. Appreciating the Gosu Incense Burner is synonymous with experiencing Shin Fujihira's philosophy of pottery. It is about finding poetry in the everyday and creating new beauty while facing nature . By holding this work in your hands, you will be able to feel the profound charm of pottery even more.

Shin Fujihira Biography
1944 Entered Kyoto Higher Technical School but dropped out due to illness
1945 Started pottery at Tohei Ceramic Arts
1957: Won the Hokuto Prize at the 13th Nitten Exhibition
1960 Florence International Ceramic Exhibition, Italy
1963: Received the Kikka Award at the 6th Shin-Nihon Exhibition and the Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Merit Award
1968 New Generation Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition: Ceramic Art Today - From Kyoto
1970 Contemporary Ceramics Europe and Japan Exhibition
1973 Received the Japan Ceramic Society Award
1974 Latin American Travel Exhibition
1976 Traveling exhibition of Japanese ceramic masterpieces in East Germany
1978 Traveling exhibition of Japanese ceramic masterpieces in West Germany
1982 US/Canada Traveling Exhibition
1983 Contemporary Japanese Crafts Exhibition
1985: Perspectives on Contemporary Japanese Art
1990: Winner of the Kyoto Art and Culture Award
1991 Received the Kyoto City Cultural Merit Award

"This is a new, unused piece. It is currently kept at the Fujihira Shin Memorial Museum. If you purchase it, his son, Fujihira Yasushi, will create a box to certify that it is an authentic piece."