Masayuki Higuchi was born in Tajimi and studied ceramics at the prestigious Tajimi Technical High School. After studying sculpture at Nagoya University of the Arts, he apprenticed in Okayama with Yamamoto Toshu, a Living National Treasure for Bizen ware. Under Yamamoto’s guidance, he was able to master the ancient Bizen art of wood-fired ceramics. When Higuchi returned to Tajimi, he integrated wood-firing into his Mino wares in a region that had converted largely to gas-fired kilns in the post-war years.

Higuchi titled this piece simply “shino sake cup” but with the iron oxide underglaze it could also be considered a fine example of nezumi, or grey, shino. The variety of reds, purples, greys, and blacks is proof of the range of colours shinos can provide. There is also a lovely iridescence to the glaze surface, perhaps an artifact of the wood-firing. Higuchi’s practice focuses on recapturing the essence of Momoyama Mino wares: the timeless beauty of natural materials transformed by fire.

Comes with the signed, stamped, and titled wood box, stamped wrapping cloth, and CV.