Straw white glazed sake cup by Masashi Nishibata

Width: 9 cm Depth: 8.2 cm Height: 6 cm

Straw white glazed sake cup by Tadashi Nishibata

- A microcosm where the white clouds of straw glaze resonate with red clay and flames

This is a piece from the Straw White Glazed Series that Nishibata Tadashi has been actively exploring in recent years. Although it is a small piece that fits in the palm of your hand, its surface is condensed with the drama of the earth and clouds competing with each other.

Straw white glaze spreads like white clouds

A thick layer of straw-white glaze flows over the red clay base, and shrinks during firing to form cracks (crazing) like drift ice floating on the surface of a lake. The reddish-brown base, which contains iron, seeps out from under the glaze, creating a rhythmic striped pattern of black and white.

Shaped like a tight grip

Rather than relying on a potter's wheel, the clay is shaped by wrapping it in the palm of the hand, resulting in uneven thickness and distortion. The curves of the body and the unevenness of the rim retain the impression of the artist's fingertips, and when you actually hold it in your hand, your fingers fit naturally and with a sense of security.

The vitality of red soil

The red clay that peeks out from the unglazed areas is iron-rich clay collected in the mountains of Tanba. It is fired at high temperatures to give it a simple yet lustrous shine, creating a vivid contrast with the softness of the white glaze.

The scenery is completed with sake

When sake is poured into the sake cup, the white glaze shines softly from the inside, and the lines of the crazing stand out more clearly. The expression of the glaze also changes subtly with each change in temperature or type of sake, allowing the user to enjoy the ever-changing scenery. This "Straw White Glazed Sake Cup" is a masterpiece that allows you to experience Nishibata Tadashi's creative philosophy of "controlled chance" in the palm of your hand. White and red, smooth and rough, calculated and chance - the harmony of opposing elements will add a quiet uplifting feeling to your daily evening drinks.

Masashi Nishibata Biography

Born on February 24, 1948. Started making pottery in 1969. 1976. Hyogo Prefectural Exhibition Encouragement Award. 1986. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition for the first time. 1988. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Japan Crafts Association President's Award. 1989. Selected for the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition, Handon no Kai, Nogawa Memorial Award. 1991. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Selected for the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Forms Exhibition. 1992. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Tea Ceremony Forms Exhibition, Excellence Award, Hyogo Prefecture Emerging Artist Encouragement Award. Invited to exhibit at the NHK-sponsored Paris-Japanese Ceramics Now 100 Selections, Excellence Award at the Tea Ceremony Forms Exhibition. 1993. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Solo Exhibition at Sogo Hiroshima Store, Kyoto Chemin. 1994. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Solo Exhibition at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store. 1995. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Solo Exhibition at Sogo Hiroshima Store. 1996. Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition. Awarded the Excellence Award at the Tea Ceremony Art Exhibition, solo exhibition at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store
1997 Encouragement Award at the Tea Ceremony Art Exhibition 1998 Selected for the Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition Solo exhibition at Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Selected for the Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition 2000 Solo exhibition at Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Solo exhibition at Mitsukoshi Fukuoka 2001 Selected for the Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition at Gallery Dojima 2002 Solo exhibition at Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Solo exhibition at Gallery Dojima 2003 Solo exhibition at Santa Fe Touchingston, USA 2004 Father and son exhibition at Sogo Hiroshima store Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Art Exhibition 2005 Exhibited at Akashi City Museum of Culture and Hyogo Ceramics Exhibition Purchased Akadobedai, Hyogo Ceramic Art Museum Solo exhibition at Gallery Dojima Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi 2006 Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Art Exhibition Selected for the Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Japan Society Gallery of New York Solo exhibition at Takashimaya Yokohama Touchingston, USA Father and son exhibition at Takashimaya Matsuyama 2007 Toshun-kai Exhibition, Sogo Yokohama Encouragement Award at the Tea Ceremony Art Exhibition Selected for the Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition 2008 Selected for the Japanese Traditional Crafts Exhibition Solo Exhibition, Yokohama Takashimaya Mitsukoshi Main Store, Santa Fe, Touchingston, USA Toshun-kai Exhibition, Funabashi Seibu Sogo Hiroshima Invited to exhibit at the Japanese Ceramics Exhibition 2009 Solo Exhibition, Gallery Dojima, Sendai Mitsukoshi 2010 Sogo Kobe Exhibited at the Musee Tomo Grand Prize Exhibition, Contemporary Tea Solo Exhibition, Yokohama Takashimaya Touchingston, USA, Santa Fe, 2011 Invited to exhibit at the Japanese Ceramics Exhibition Solo Exhibition, Joan B. Marvis, New York, USA Invited to exhibit at the Japanese Ceramics Exhibition 2013 Exhibited at the Musee Tomo "Contemporary Famous Bowls" Solo Exhibition, Mitsukoshi Main Store, Santa Fe, USA Miyazaki Gallery, Sogo Kobe Chiba Sogo 2014 Solo Exhibition Solo Exhibition, Mitsukoshi Main Store, Santa Fe, USA 2015 Received the Hyogo Prefecture Cultural Award in 2016. Exhibited at Higashihiroshima City Museum of Art for Ceramics that Color Our Lives - Food Wares. Exhibited at Joan B. Marvis' 40th Anniversary Exhibition in 2017.
Solo Exhibition at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store in 2018

A conversation with Masashi Nishibata