Japanese Pot, does anybody know the signature?

Hello, dear bonsai friends,

I want to show you a pot which I bought in 1992 in Frankfurt / Main, Germany. It is Japanese, I think, handmade and a bit unusual.
Peter Krebs told me that it is quite strange that the potter did not remove the auxiliary line he scratched into the clay for placing the nubs at the right height.
Maybe someone can read or recognize the signature and chop?

Greetings,

Heike

Hello Heike,
I do not know the maker of this nice pot,
but i have a question to.
Why is the placement of the buds (heads-nubs) asymmetrical, is there something to it?
I had a hard time finding pots who have a symmetrical placement of those elements on them.
Sunip

Hello Sunip,

I don't exactly know why the nubs are placed asymmetrically, in fact I didn't even really notice that before, but I would assume it is because of the typical Japanese aversion to symmetry in bonsai in general?!

Best regards,

Heike

P.S. I forgot to write in the beginning that the pot cost about 100,-DM (German Marks) which would be only 50,-€ today but it was quite an expensive pot in 1992.

Hello all again....
Heike, your pot was made by Atsuko Bisho, a Tokoname potter.
Ryan
http://japanesebonsaipots.net/

Hello Ryan,

thank you so much, it is great to know that now, after 20 years.
Do you know anything about the potter?
What do you think about the pot and the strange thing with the scratched in line?

I read your blog, it is just great! Such a lot of lovely pots and interesting information.

Heike

She has been a full time potter since 1975, along with her husband, Dr Atsuko. Nail work such as the line you mention is common in her work, and is normally used to break up tension, or feminize a masculine pot(soften it up a bit.)
Thanks for reading the blog, I love doing it. Today I'm fixing a very large broken antique Chinese pot with lacquer and gold. I hope to post about it soon!
Sunip, the rivets on old rustic Japanese drums are not always symmetrical, nor are there pottery counterparts.
Ryan
http://japanesebonsaipots.net/

Ryan B wrote:Hello all again....
Heike, your pot was made by Atsuko Bisho, a Tokoname potter.
Ryan
http://japanesebonsaipots.net/

Ryan, do the signature and chop read Atsuko, Bisho - or something else. Is her/their work in the catalogue?

I can't find that chop or signature in the back of my 80's catalogue, or that name with a different chop.

Well the nail signature definitely reads "Atsuko Bisho" Made (尾州 敦子). Theres the kanji, you tell me about the chop Russ?!!
I think I may have discussed this before, but here it is again. The Tokoname Yuyaku is a company. They put out catalogs featuring potters from the region of Tokoname and other potters living in other regions who do contract work for the company(Kosen, Shoseki). The region is not the company. Many smaller scale non-production potters from the region never get co-opted, or don't produce enough work to be catalog production potters. Many choose not to participate in the Yuyaku at all, or in very limited numbers. Ikkou is a good example. While Mr. Kazuhiro is cranking out great one off pots and is fast becoming one of the most respected potters around, youll only find 3 of his pots in the Current catalog....and the president of The Yuyaku is his childhood best friend! I have yet to buy a single pot from the Tokoname Yuyaku. Their prices are unrealistic and I can get the same pots for half the price with a patina. But that's me and my situation. Any of you, on the other hand, can buy used Tokoname pots for less than list price from Yorozuen on eBay, I highly recomend them, they're nice people and have the best selection of pottery for sale in Japan.

So that's off topic, anywho, I believe Atsuko is in some way affiliated with Siebun, perhaps using the same kiln.
Tough for me to tell because my Japanese sucks ass, all I can read are 2 or 300 potters names and regions!
Selective language skills for sure!

Thank you very much for all this information, Ryan!

I'm looking forward to seeing your antique Chinese pot in your blog!

Heike

Hello all,

I have a few more japanese pots which I bought about 20 or even 25 years ago. When I first saw Ryans "Chop and Signature Resource" on his blog yesterday, I took these pots from the shelf and tried to identify the chops. Unfortunately I wasn't successful. Either they were not in the list or I am just too blind...

Maybe you recognise them nevertheless, Ryan? Perhaps you can use my chop-photographs for your list, if they are interesting.

Best wishes,

Heike



The glaze of this pot is lovely, I like it a lot.




Unusual shape of the feet.



This pot is one of my first expensive pots, bought between 1985 and '87. Unfortunately it is cracked in the corners, frozen with too wet soil in it a few years ago.
I'm sorry the chop isn't clean, but I brushed and washed and didn't get it better. The macro lens shows all the little remaining limescale particles mercilessly...


This one was bought at the same time in the same shop as the previous pot and seems to be of the same clay and glaze. Its chop is barely perceptible, so I can't photograph it, but it might be the same as the previous one.

Heike,
While the first one is unknown to me, the others are Tosui. You have 2 different Tosui stamps there, theyre 2 of the 10 that the three generations of Tosui potters and Harumatsu(brother of second generation Tosui) used. If the first 2 characters(the 2 on the right side of the square) are the same in the last pot, it's also Tosui, it looks like a Tosui glaze I've seen before. I have no idea what generations these stamps come from, as I cannot read anything in Japanese other than potters names(and I'm sketchy on that at best). They're in a full page description of the marks of the family on page 28 of the 3 volume Bonsai Pots pictorial book. Drop me an email and I'll shoot you a picture and perhaps you can get it translated. It may be worth your while...1st generation Tosui pots are very very valuable.

Thank you very much, once again! I'm delighted to learn all this, it is really exciting for me.
I will send you my email address.

Heike

Hello Ryan,

here are some more japanese pots that are in my collection for quite some time.

This little shohin pot came to me between 1985 and '87, along with the Tosui pots shown above.





The chop is just tiny, I hope it is possible to read it. Is it the right way round or upside down?


This one must be another Tosui, as it has exactly the same chop as the blue-green rectangular pot with the unusual feet.




Here are two round unglazed dark brown pots, a small one (with sleeping Hosta in it) and a larger one, which have the same chop.











This round pot might only be around ten years old:





And then I have this large pot, which I got at Ebay some years ago for just a few Euros:




I have two more pots with the same chop as the last one, both quite plain. They were given to me by my cousin who had them since the 1980s and I don't know anything about them, whether they are Japanese or Chinese and so on. They look quite nicely made but I don't know what they are.

Ryan, of course you can use any of my pictures if you like.

Best wishes,

Heike

Heike,
Let's see,
1. Toen(either Tokoname or Seto, my sources seemed confused on where this kiln is)
2. Chinese(no idea of age)
3. Chinese
4. Touyo(Tokoname, his name is on their stamps page)
5. Yohen(Tokoname, I believe this one is on my chops page)

Thank you, Ryan! I am happy to know these things now. You are phenomenal!

Heike