Hello, I am Yuki, an owner of YUKIMONO webstore.Today let me tell you about the bonsai potter, Eimei of Youzan-Toen.
Hideaki Shimiz, and his professional name as a potter is Eimei, was born in 1960 in Tokoname. His father, Masaaki Shimizu, the founder of Yozan-Toen is well known as a prominent master of glazed pots, succeeded in the commercialization of the first cinnabar bonsai pots in Tokoname.
Though Eimei, the second generation of Yozan-Toen is also known as a master of glaze, I think the characteristics of his work is the beauty of the shape and the very delicate color of the glaze.
All the shapes of his pots are elegant and sophisticated, especially the curved line of the feet has a sexy feel. Once I asked him "What image did you have in your mind when you created the shape?” His answer was just what I thought. “There are many things but one of them is a beautiful ankle of the woman.”
One of his representative glazes is celadon. Look at this oval bonsai pot which is one of YUKIMONO products. The small cracks covering the surface look like a beautiful pattern.
This version is created with a new glaze which he successfully created recently after struggling for about 2 years to perfect this technique and effect. At first glance, it looks like there is a purple glaze but on closer inspection you can see that there are lots of tiny patina that is purple in color covering the blue glaze.
Needless to say, producing a beautiful and unique glaze is difficult and needs time-consuming work for all ceramists, however, once Eimei has developed a new glaze, he can keep making them stably and effectively. That’s is why he has been respected as a great bonsai potter.
Thank you for reading YUKIMONO blog post!