Tortoiseshell Tenmoku Vase “Horaisan”. A precious one-off into which a master of the tortoiseshell glaze has poured his technique and his sense of beauty.

Horaisan, the Land of Immortals
With a rich tortoiseshell-coloured glaze, the work expresses “Horaisan”: the golden, shining ideal land of eternal youth and immortality, for which even Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, is said to have longed.

A Deliberate Waver in the Form
Using the traditional wheel technique of Arita, a “waver” was deliberately worked into the form to express the wavering of a mountain path across the earth, and through gradations of many layers of iron glaze and namako glaze, the light of mountains shining under the sun was expressed. Built with a body as full and solid as could be taken, the work lets one feel both the maker’s sure technique and his playfulness.

A Traditional Glaze of Emperors
The glaze applied here is taihi tenmoku, a traditional glaze favoured even by emperors, named after the colour of the shell of the hawksbill turtle. Shinemon fused that traditional glaze with an amusing, playful form and created a new work. Work as fine as this could come only from Shinemon, with fifty years as a craftsman.

Hand-Thrown, One of a Kind
A noble beauty, and a graceful mountain pattern along the side. This is a single piece of exceptional rarity. Tortoiseshell Tenmoku Vase “Horaisan” is a one-off, thrown on the hand wheel and made by hand without transfers.

Contents and Dimensions
Vase × 1, paulownia box, artist booklet.
Height: 12.5cm Max diameter: 30cm / Mouth diameter: 27cm Weight: 2900g
As each piece is handmade, slight variations in size may occur.