Nishioka Koju (1917-2006) Vintage Karatsu pottery cup #4459

- width: approx. 8cm (3 5⁄32in) x 7cm (2 3⁄4in)

- height: approx. 7cm (2 3⁄4in)

- weight: 182g (w/ 299g)

Nishioka Koju (1917-2006)
From 1953 he engaged in the study of ancient kilns used for Karatsu ware for 18 years. In 1971 he studied under Koyama Fujio and opened his own waritake climbing kiln, Kojiro kiln; in 1981, under the guidance of Arazawa Toyozo, he opened Koju kiln. In 1999 he opened Kaga Karatsu Tatsunokuchi Kiln in Ishikawa prefecture.
After holding the exhibition "Kojiro Kiln Trio" at Gallery Dojima in 1996, he continued to hold solo exhibitions at the same gallery every year until his death in 2006; in that time he also held his "80th Birthday Exhibition" at the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi in 1996.
Because he was an independent artist, he does not have a particularly outstanding record of awards; however, he was one of the leading artists of modern Karatsu ware, and possessed enough skill to be called a "Karatsu expert" by Koyama Fujio. He was successful in the restoration of classical techniques such as brush decorated and mottled Karatsu and "kairagi" due to his long years of research of ancient Karatsu kilns. He specialized in tea bowls, and also presented richly textured scenes on rice bowls, vases and pitchers.