This spectacular vase from the late 1980s, designed by Arata Kōji, stands 37.5 cm tall. Its colors subtly oscillate from brown to khaki in a matte material with a discreet velvety texture. Its slender shape evokes the balance between modernity and tradition. The clay is engraved with a gouge in a textured checkerboard pattern, like a braiding reminiscent of the decorations of the Cizhou kilns in China, a technique that Kōji mastered with great finesse.

Signed piece with original signed Tomobako. This piece was selected by Arata Koji to represent his work at the 28th Japanese Arts and Crafts Exhibition (Nihon Dentō Kōgei Ten), held in 1981, and is included in the exhibition catalog.

Born in 1937 in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Kōji continued his studies at the Ibaraki Prefectural Ceramic Art Institute before joining Toujinsha, directed by Inoue Ryōsai. In 1968, he built his own kiln in Kasama, a traditional region for ceramics. He adopted the method of engraved reliefs ("scraped relief"), inspired by Cizhou ceramics, transposed into an expressive and modern language. Each piece is born from a preliminary drawing, often inspired by everyday objects, which Kōji transposes onto still-soft clay, then works with a gouge with care.

An artist with a long and prolific career, he became known for his more modestly sized vases, but this 37.5 cm model stands out as a manifesto of his style: minimalist, raw yet finely decorated, rooted in contemporary Japanese ceramics and asserting a dialogue with the Chinese past. Presented in 1981 at the prestigious Japanese Arts and Crafts Exhibition, it testifies to Kasama's modernist impulse and contemporary revival at that time.

Height 37.5 Diameter approximately 33cm