This spherical ceramic vase by Shuji Yanagibashi (柳橋修二), with a diameter of 29 cm and a height of 27.5 cm, captures the eye with the vibrant sobriety of its mineral tones. Three distinct zones overlap: at the base, a gray-brown cracked texture, then a smooth central band in deep black, finally a frosted white neck, crossed by fine veins formed by natural crystallizations. This play of textures and colors is the result of a complex and mastered technique.

Yanagibashi works on a wheel, seeking harmonious curves. He then applies a slip—colored slip—over matte biscuit, before using a technique called hyo-mon, frozen patterns, which consists of freezing this slip before proceeding with a second firing. The contrast between matte and glossy, between rough and smooth, gives the object a calm but intense presence. Under the light, each area reacts differently, animating the form with a subtle, almost silent vibration.

The use of glazed engobes, already observed in Ito Kosho, allows Yanagibashi to play on the ambiguity between surface and depth. The engobe partially fuses with the glaze, creating optical and textural effects that escape simple decorative categories. The “frozen” motif further reinforces this sensation of an object captured in time, between archaism and modernity.

Shuji Yanagibashi was born in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, in 1964. Since the 1990s, he has participated in major Japanese exhibitions: the Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition (1992), the New Traditional Craft Exhibition (1995), and the Kantō Ceramics Triennale. He has received several awards, including the Encouragement Award at the North Kantō Ceramics Exhibition. In 2010, he published an educational book with NHK. In 2016, some of his works were acquired by the Thai royal family. His rigorous and experimental practice is in keeping with the Kasama tradition, while renewing the formal and tactile codes of Japanese ceramics.

Original Tomobako