– Three distinct artistic voices in one curated set: elegant gold, delicate painted decoration, bold dark abstraction – Compact scale (approx. 5cm × 5cm each) – ideal for display, daily use, or as an educational reference collection – Represents diverse regional traditions and technical approaches within contemporary Japanese ceramics Summary: This carefully curated trio of guinomi (sake cups) offers an ideal entry point for collectors new to Japanese studio pottery. Rather than committing to a single artist or style, this set presents three distinct aesthetic directions in miniature: HAYASHI Keisei's golden vessel with blue accent, SATO Satoshi's (1936–2022) white ground with red painted motif, and SADOYAMA Yasumasa's dramatic dark-ground piece with contrasting decoration. Together, they illustrate the breadth of contemporary Japanese ceramic art – from refined elegance to graphic boldness – while remaining accessible in both scale and price point. Each cup is small enough to hold comfortably (approximately 5cm in height and diameter), making them practical for use, easy to display together, and an excellent foundation for understanding how different glazes, forms, and decorative techniques create entirely different visual experiences. This is collecting as education: three lessons in Japanese aesthetics, side by side. Why does this set work so well as an introduction to Japanese ceramics? Because it does what good teaching does: it shows rather than tells. Place these three guinomi side by side and you immediately understand that Japanese pottery is not a monolith. It's a conversation spanning centuries, regions, and individual sensibilities. One artist favours lustrous gold and restrained decoration; another works with delicate brushwork on a clean white ground; a third embraces dark, moody surfaces with abstract patterning. Same object type, same approximate size, entirely different worlds. Let's start with Hayashi Keisei's piece on the left. The golden glaze catches light beautifully, creating a warm, inviting surface that feels luxurious without being ostentatious. A blue decorative motif – perhaps a stylised plant or abstract mark – provides a single point of visual interest, demonstrating the principle of restraint central to Japanese design. This cup teaches the lesson of 'ma' (negative space): what you leave out is as important as what you include. The gold glaze itself is a technical achievement, requiring careful control of kiln atmosphere and temperature to achieve that even, lustrous finish. The middle cup, by Sato Satoshi, takes a completely different approach. Satoshi (1936–2022) was a respected figure in Japanese contemporary ceramics, a member of the avant-garde Sodeisha group, and an artist whose work is held in the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto. This guinomi showcases his skill in painted decoration: a red motif – possibly a crab, possibly a flower, perhaps something more abstract – applied to a white ground with a confident, calligraphic brushstroke. The pink foot adds an unexpected note of warmth. This cup teaches the lesson of painted ceramics (e-garatsu, sometsuke, aka-e): that a vessel can be a canvas, that drawing and pottery can meet, that a single brushstroke can carry enormous expressive weight. The third cup, by Sadoyama Yasumasa, is the boldest of the three. A dark ground – black or deep brown – is activated by white and gold decoration that reads almost as graffiti, as though someone has scrawled something urgent across the surface. This is ceramics as visual drama, as contrast, as impact. Where Hayashi's cup whispers and Satoshi's cup sings, Sadoyama's cup shouts. It teaches the lesson that Japanese ceramics can be bold, graphic, even confrontational – that the tradition is not all quiet tea ceremony restraint but also includes energy, movement, and contemporary edge. Together, these three cups map out a spectrum. They show you that Japanese ceramics encompass refinement and rawness, tradition and innovation, subtlety and boldness. For a new collector, this is invaluable. Instead of guessing what kind of work might appeal to you, you have three clear examples to compare. Do you gravitate towards the elegance of gold? The graphic clarity of brushwork on white? The drama of dark grounds and contrasting decoration? Your answer will guide your future collecting. There's also a practical advantage to starting with a set like this. At approximately 5cm × 5cm each, these guinomi are compact. They don't demand a large display space. You can line them up on a narrow shelf, arrange them in a shallow box, or use them individually for sake and rotate them depending on your mood. They're also less intimidating than larger, more expensive works. If you're new to handling Japanese ceramics – if you're still learning how to hold, pour from, and care for these objects – guinomi are forgiving. They're meant to be used, to be touched, to be lived with. And that's perhaps the most important lesson this set teaches: that collecting doesn't have to mean putting things behind glass and never touching them. These cups are functional. They're designed to hold liquid, to be brought to the lips, to be part of everyday ritual. Use them for sake, certainly, but also for whisky, for tea, for a small serving of cold soup in summer. The more you use them, the more you'll notice the subtle differences in how each one feels in your hand, how the rim meets your lips, how the interior decoration reveals itself as you drink. This is embodied knowledge – knowledge that comes not from reading or looking, but from doing. For collectors building a foundation, this trio offers excellent value. Instead of three separate purchases – three separate decisions, three separate transactions – you acquire a curated group that tells a story. It's a snapshot of contemporary Japanese ceramic diversity, a set of reference points, and a functional collection all at once. Display them together to appreciate their differences; use them individually to experience how form and decoration shape the drinking experience. Either way, you're learning, and learning is what the best collecting is always about. Shipping & Handling We ship worldwide via DHL or EMS with full insurance and tracking. Professional packing ensures safe arrival; combined shipping available for multiple wins. Local customs duties are the buyer's responsibility. 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