Makers · 作家 · Tokoname
Shuho
秀峰A Tokoname workshop known for glazed ware. Its roots run back to 片岡陶園 Kataoka Toen, founded in 1923; since 1973 the studio has worked under the name 義村陶園 Yoshimura Toen. Its field is glazed ware, and the range runs from shohin pots that sit in the palm to vessels beyond ninety centimetres across.
At a glance
- Kiln
- Yoshimura Toen 義村陶園
- Region
- Tokoname, Aichi 常滑
- Founded
- 1923, as Kataoka Toen 片岡陶園
- Renamed
- 1973
- Potter
- 片岡晋, b. 1941
- Succeeded
- To the Shuho name in 1974
- Specialism
- Glazed ware
- Range
- Shohin to over 90 cm
- Techniques
- Hand-building, coil-building, press-moulding
01 · 襲名 The name
A workshop, and a name it inherited
Kataoka Toen was founded in 1923. 片岡晋, born in 1941, is recorded as the fourth generation of Kataoka Toen.
In 1973 he re-established the workshop as Yoshimura Toen. The following year he succeeded to the name 秀峰 — Shuho. The workshop generation and the name are counted separately here: the fourth generation of the workshop is known; how many have held the name is not.
大正十二年創業。昭和四十九年、秀峰の号を継承。
02 · 見どころ What to look for
Clean line, with something left in it
Glazed ware is the field, and that is worth knowing before you buy: an unglazed pot carrying this name is the first thing to question. The forms are clean and resolved, with something left in them — that is the phrase used of them. The workshop moves between hand-building, coil-building and press-moulding, so the range of shapes is wide.
緑釉の発色に冴え。広東緑釉に近い窯変に佳品。
03 · 落款 The seals
Reading the mark beneath the pot
Recorded examples include 秀峰造 written with a point above a square 義村陶園 stamp. Other recorded stamps include 義村造印, 義村陶園 and 義村秀峰之印. Other forms may exist.
He succeeded to 秀峰 in 1974. That date describes the succession, not when the 秀峰 mark began to be used. How many have held the name before him is not recorded, and is left out here.
| Mark | Reading | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 秀峰造 義村陶園 | Shuho zō — Yoshimura Toen | A recorded example. “Made by Shuho.” |
| 義村造印 | Yoshimura zō in | Stamped. |
| 義村陶園 | Yoshimura Toen | Stamped. The workshop name alone. |
| 義村秀峰之印 | Yoshimura Shuho no in | Stamped. Workshop and name together. |
04 · 実物 A mark on a pot
An unlisted mark on a pot handled as Shuho
A two-character brushed mark on the base of a pot handled by us as Shuho. Dark pigment, in a window of bare clay where the glaze has been scraped away. Not written into the clay with a point, and not stamped.
It does not match any of the recorded examples listed here — the stacked 秀峰造 義村陶園 and three stamps. Its reading and its status remain unverified.
05 · 代表作 Recorded works
Not for sale — four works recorded for this kiln, with the pot from a planting photographed alongside them.
| Work | Size (cm) |
|---|---|
| Green-glazed fukuro-shiki studded oval — made when the body clay was still the older, iron-rich one. Studs set on the swell of the body and on the lower band. The form turns up rarely among old Chinese pots but is a bold choice for Tokoname; it was probably a way of reaching for an antique air, and the glaze running off the studs is part of the pleasure | 54 × 41 × 11.3 |
| Studded oval after Tofukuji — the sweep of the oval and the finish of the studs have a character of their own. Bright green is uncommon in Tofukuji’s own work; this one matches his best for glaze, and form and glaze together give it a character beyond a mere copy | 45 × 32 × 7 |
| White kōchi-glazed fukuro-shiki oval — a deeper bag-form oval, right for fruiting and flowering trees. White kōchi turns easily in the kiln and bringing it up clean and even is hard; this one has a very slight turn in it. The whiteness stands out while the pot is new, and the turn comes up more clearly with use | 24.5 × 21 × 9 |
| Oribe-glazed fukuro-shiki mokkō — the same oribe, and this is how differently it can come out. A dark green with a turn in it, against the courtly lobed form, gives the tree an air of age. The “something left in it” that marks a Shuho pot shows here | 39.5 × 34.5 × 10.5 |
| Ruri-glazed round, outer rim — photographed under a winter jasmine. A trim round pot against a natural cascade, and opposite colours: deep lapis against bright yellow flower | — |
Available
Shuho pots in the collection
Each pot ships worldwide from Tokyo. Send us a photograph of the underside and we will tell you which of the marks it carries.