Toyozo Arakawa (荒川豊蔵), Japanese (1894-1985)

An E-Shino Tea Bowl (絵志野茶碗)

Showa Era (1926-1989)

About the work

A superb E-Shino tea bowl by Toyozo Arakawa, one of the most influential ceramic artists of the twentieth century and the potter credited with the rediscovery and revival of Momoyama-period Shino ware. Created at his celebrated Ōgaya Kiln (大萱窯), this tea bowl beautifully captures the rustic elegance and spontaneous charm that define the finest Shino ceramics.

The bowl is robustly potted with gently rounded sides rising from a neatly defined foot to a softly rolled rim, creating a form that sits comfortably in the hands during the tea ceremony. It is covered in a warm feldspathic Shino glaze of creamy ivory tone, subtly enriched with natural blushes of pink and soft grey developed during firing. Painted freely in iron underglaze around the exterior is a stylised landscape of windswept grasses, executed with bold yet economical brushwork characteristic of classical E-Shino ware. The expressive decoration is perfectly balanced by the quiet simplicity of the glaze, evoking the spirit of Momoyama tea ceramics.

Combining painterly decoration with a restrained form, the tea bowl embodies the ideals of wabi-cha, where natural beauty and quiet imperfection are celebrated above technical perfection. It is a masterful example of Arakawa's lifelong pursuit of reviving the aesthetics of sixteenth-century Mino ceramics.

The tea bowl bears the artist's impressed seal on the base and is accompanied by its original signed wooden storage box (tomobako). 

Dimensions

9cm(h) x 13cm(w) x 13.2cm(d)

Footnote

Toyozo Arakawa (1894-1985) was one of the most influential ceramic artists of the Showa period and a central figure in the revival of Momoyama-period Mino ware traditions. Born in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, into a family connected to generations of Mino potters, he devoted his life to rediscovering the origins of Shino, Setoguro, and Kiseto ceramics. In 1930, after studying ancient shards excavated from old kiln sites in Kani, Gifu, Arakawa confirmed that Shino ware originated in Mino rather than Seto, fundamentally reshaping the understanding of Japanese ceramic history. He subsequently established an anagama kiln at Ogaya modeled after Momoyama-period kilns and pursued the recreation of classical Shino aesthetics, eventually developing his own celebrated style known as “Arakawa Shino.” In 1955, he was designated a Living National Treasure for Shino and Setoguro ceramics, and in 1971 he received the Order of Culture.