Collector's Guide Vol. 9 — Living National Treasures & Postwar Innovators: From Tokuda Yasokichi III to Katō Shigetaka, Zenkō Yasuda & Daisuke Tomioka

Collectors of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Japanese ceramics encounter two complementary streams of excellence. The first is the institutional pinnacle of traditional craft: Holders of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Jūyō Mukei Bunkazai Hojisha 重要無形文化財保持者), popularly known as Living National Treasures (Ningen Kokuhō 人間国宝). The second is the fiercely independent world of postwar kiln lineages and juried ceramic exhibitions—from Seto and Mino to Kyoto—where artists reinvent glaze chemistry, slab construction, and surface relief.

By looking at four flower vessels (hanaire 花入) from Sabiru Treasures' curated highlights alongside insights from our 603-piece private collector archive, we can see how both streams reward the observant eye.

1. Pure Chromatic Light: Tokuda Yasokichi III (三代徳田八十吉, 1933–2009 • Living National Treasure)

Designated a Living National Treasure in 1997 for Saiyū Jiki (彩釉磁器, Glaze-Gradation Porcelain), Tokuda Yasokichi III inherited the closely guarded overglaze enamel formulas (gosai 五彩) developed by his grandfather, Tokuda Yasokichi I, in Kutani (Ishikawa Prefecture). Yet where classical Kutani porcelain relied on black outline drawing (kotsugaki) filled with pictorial scenes, the third-generation master made a radical leap: he removed narrative outlines altogether and turned the mineral enamels themselves into fields of pure, radiant color.

In our featured Kutani Saiyū Porcelain Vase (Lot 107688969, H 21.5 cm), accompanied by its signed paulownia tomobako and shiori, the technical process is exacting: - High-Temperature Porcelain Firing (1,280°C): The wheel-thrown porcelain body is first fired to full vitrification at approximately 1,280°C, establishing a dense, resonant foundation. - Overglaze Saiyū Fusion (1,040°C): Formulated from over seventy tested combinations of cobalt, copper, and mineral oxides, the overglaze enamels are applied in graded bands and fired again around 1,040°C, causing deep midnight indigo, peacock blue, emerald, and turquoise to melt into seamless horizon transitions across the belly of the vase.

2. Architectural Iron & Earth: Katō Shigetaka (加藤重高, 1927–2013) in Seto / Mino

If Tokuda Yasokichi III represents the luminous extreme of high-fired porcelain, Katō Shigetaka (Lot 107937438, H 22.5 cm) embodies the earthy gravitas of the Seto and Mino stoneware tradition. Born as the third son of the legendary twentieth-century potter Katō Tōkurō (加藤唐九郎), Shigetaka spent his life mastering Momoyama-inspired glazes—Shino, Oribe, Ki-Seto, and Tetsuyū (鉄釉, iron glaze)—with an unmistakable architectural sensibility.

In this Slab-Built Square Tetsuyū Flower Vase, the four walls are cut and joined with deliberate vertical ridges that catch the thick iron glaze differently at every corner. Where the glaze pools heavily, it fires to a mirror-deep obsidian black; where it stretches across the raised clay seams and bevels, it breaks into warm russet-amber tones. The coarse Seto clay foot bears Shigetaka's bold incised signature, accompanied by his signed tomobako, stamped cloth (tomonuno), and shiori.

3. Postwar Kyoto Relief & Contemporary Mino Geometry: Zenkō Yasuda & Daisuke Tomioka

Two further works demonstrate how postwar and contemporary exhibition artists expand the cylindrical and spherical vase form:

• Zenkō Yasuda (安田全宏 • Lot 107697800): Winner of the 1958 Japan Ceramic Society Award, Kyoto artist Zenkō Yasuda carved low-relief stylized birds and wings around his cylindrical vase "Aoi tori ni yosete" (青い鳥に寄せて, "Dedicated to the Blue Bird"). Coated in a dry, velvety turquoise-cerulean glaze that pools darker in the carved contours, the work bridges vessel utility and modernist bas-relief sculpture.

• Daisuke Tomioka (冨岡大資 • Lot 107697853): Winner of the 2021 Mino Ceramic Exhibition Grand Prize and two-time Nitten Special Selection recipient (2020, 2024), Tomioka represents the cutting edge of contemporary Mino ware. His Checkered (Ichimatsu) Single-Flower Vase (一輪花入) contrasts a dry, stone-textured white slip body with a hand-brushed iron-black checkered belt and crisp vertical incisions—complete with incised mark and signed tomobako.

Request Access to VIP Archive Lookbook Vol. 1 (Avant-Garde & Modern Masters)

In our private 603-work European collector archive, works by Living National Treasures and modern masters—including Ryoji Koie, Sueharu Fukami, Ryuichi Kakurezaki, Yutaka Kondo, Somi Yorigami, and Satoshi Sato—are documented in full Pattern A studio plates. Complete our 3-Question Collector Profile at Looking Notes to receive complimentary access to VIP Archive Lookbook Vol. 1.