備前焼 薪窯瓶形花瓶 木村耕三（一葉窯） - Stoneware - 木村宏造 Kimura Kōzō（1941- ） - Japan - 1900年-2000年

Item Description
Bizen-Yaki Wood-Fired Bottle Vase (Hana-ire) by Kimura Kōzō, Ichiyo-gama Kiln
This is a beautifully proportioned bottle-form vase (tokkuri-gata hana-ire) in unglazed Bizen stoneware, one of Japan's oldest and most celebrated ceramic traditions. The vase has a generously rounded body that tapers into a slender neck, flaring outward into a wide, flat-rimmed mouth — a classic silhouette long favored for ikebana.
The surface displays the hallmark characteristics of authentic wood-fired Bizen ware: no glaze is applied at all, and the rich variation in color — from deep reddish-brown "hi-iro" (fire color) along the neck to soft ash-grey tones pooling near the base — is created entirely by the direct contact of flame, ash, and clay during a prolonged multi-day firing in an anagama or noborigama kiln. A small embedded stone burst mark ("ishi-haze") is visible on the body, a naturally occurring and highly prized feature in Bizen ware rather than a flaw, prized by collectors for the texture and character it adds to the surface.
The piece bears an impressed maker's mark on the underside of the foot and is accompanied by its original signed wooden storage box (tomobako), inscribed "Bizen Hana-ire" with the maker's signature and red seal — confirming authenticity and lineage directly from the kiln.

Size
Height: 20.5 cm
Width: 11 cm
Depth: 11 cm

Weight
525 g / 0.525 kg

Condition
The vase is in excellent, unused condition with no chips, cracks, or repairs; the small fused stone mark (ishi-haze) and variations in the fired surface are natural characteristics of the wood-firing process, not damage.

Artist Profile
木村宏造 Kimura Kōzō（1941- ）
Kimura Kōzō is the second-generation head of Ichiyo-gama, one of the historic kilns descending from the Kimura family — one of the traditional "six houses" (rokusei) of Bizen ware, whose lineage traces back to Kimura Chōjūrō, chief craftsman to the Ikeda clan of the Okayama domain. Born in 1941 as the eldest son of Kimura Ichiyō (founder of Ichiyo-gama and a certified Traditional Craftsman), he graduated from the sculpture department of Kanazawa College of Art in 1964 and trained at the Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology before returning to Bizen. Kimura Kōzō was first selected for the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition in 1971, and went on to be selected for the Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition, win the Issuikai Award at the Issuikai Ceramic Art Exhibition, and hold repeated solo exhibitions at Odakyu Shinjuku from 1977 onward. He became head of Ichiyo-gama in 1989 and later served as chairman of the Okayama Prefecture Bizen Ware Potters' Association.
He became head of Ichiyo-gama in 1989 and later served as chairman of the Okayama Prefecture Bizen Ware Potters' Association.

NOITICE:　
　
In 1947, Ichiyo-gama was established as an independent kiln from the head family's "Kimura Kōrakuen". In addition to his studio works, Kimura Kōzō has made significant cultural contributions, including sculpting the statue of Tsuda Nagatada at Okita Shrine in Okayama City. He was officially certified as a Traditional Craftsman (Dentō Kōgei-shi) in 2011.

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