Japanese Bizen Imbe Tokuri Sake Bottle by Takenaka Kenji #5554

width: approx. 7cm (2.8in)

height: approx. 9.5cm (3.7in)

weight: approx. 192g (w/ box 370g)

condition: Very good

Accessories: Tomobako (Original wooden box), Tomonuno (Original wrapping cloth), Shiori (pamphlet)

Shipping: Shipped from Japan with a tracking number. We take great care in professional packaging to ensure the item arrives safely.

This is a premium Japanese Bizen Imbe Tokuri (sake bottle) crafted by the acclaimed ceramic artist Takenaka Kenji. Bizen ware is one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns, celebrated for its rustic beauty and thousands of years of history.

This piece showcases the sophisticated "Imbe-de" style, characterized by a dark, lustrous iron-like surface. The captivating visual highlights of this bottle lie in its "Yukei" (glaze landscape)—the natural dramatic patterns formed by flying ash and intense flames inside the kiln. The beautiful golden-brown ash speckles (known as Goma) against the deep, dark body capture a fleeting moment of elemental transition, frozen forever in clay.

The structural balance of this piece is exceptional, featuring a sturdy cylindrical body paired with a gracefully narrowed neck. It embodies the core Japanese aesthetic of "Yo-no-Bi" (beauty in utility). This authentic piece is highly recommended for collectors of fine Japanese ceramics, tea ceremony practitioners, or those who appreciate using a masterpiece as a unique flower vase.

Kenji Takenaka
1957: Born in Okayama City

1986: Graduated from the Bizen Ceramic Art Center, Okayama Prefectural Industrial Technology Center

1988: Appled himself to Isezaki Jun, a Living National Treasure

1993: Built a semi-underground anagama (tunnel kiln)

1994: Fired his first kiln

2007: Exhibited at the Franco-Japanese Contemporary Ceramic Art Exhibition in Paris

---Selected Exhibitions & Awards---
Selected for the Issuikai Exhibition

Selected for the "Form of Chanoyu" Exhibition, Tanabe Museum of Art

Selected for the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition

Selected and awarded at the Okayama Prefectural Art Exhibition

Selected and awarded at the Japan Traditional Crafts Chugoku Branch Exhibition

Selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition