Cylindrical stoneware vase, Koinuma Michio (肥沼美智雄), Japan

This vase is constructed like a cylinder with superimposed registers, clearly distinguishing the successive "levels." Its deliberately compact profile evokes a notched mechanical part: an almost industrial form, based on the rigor of its volume rather than ornamentation. The thick, slightly incised lip reinforces the impression of a sculpted and assertive form.

The entire surface has a continuous, metallic, silvery sheen that catches the light across the whole piece. The variations in gray, from dark to light, are achieved solely through the material and firing process, without any added decoration. The piece is signed underneath and does not have a tomobako (a decorative element).

Biography

Koinuma Michio (肥沼美智雄, 1936–2020) is a major figure in modern ceramics from Mashiko (Tochigi Prefecture). Born in Tokyo, he initially studied economics and political science before turning to ceramics later in life and settling in Mashiko at the age of thirty-three. He built his own kiln, Ichimoku-gama, in 1969 and began working independently. He gained recognition as early as the 1970s, notably receiving the Excellence Award at the North Kanto-area Art Exhibition (1974), and in 1991 was awarded the Marronnier Culture Award by Tochigi Prefecture.

His work is renowned for its powerful forms, often constructed using the tatara method (clay slabs), which allowed him to achieve strongly structured volumes and sharp edges. He worked primarily with Shigaraki clays or a gairome -type clay, exploring surfaces where the material and firing process alone were sufficient to produce the visual effect. A program on NHK was dedicated to him in 1997 (Yakimono tanpō / “Ceramic Hunt”). He passed away in August 2020.

Works by Koinuma Michio are held in public collections in Japan and abroad, including the Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, the Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art dedicated the exhibition "Koinuma Michio and his contemporaries" (April 16 – June 19, 2022), showcasing several of the artist's seminal works.