This stoneware vase, crafted by Nakazawa Yōko (中沢洋子, born 1949), illustrates the vigor and depth of the Echizen tradition. Its silhouette recalls archaic jōmon forms, with incised spirals and perforations that open the material to light. The neck, cut into irregular points, accentuates the sculptural tension, transforming the utilitarian object into a work that dialogues with space. The surface, marked with brown and purplish shades, bears the direct imprint of the fire, the result of the long wood firings practiced in the Echizen anagama.

Nakazawa Yōko was born in Gunma Prefecture. She joined the Wakiya kiln (脇谷窯) in Echizen after marrying potter Nishiura Takeshi in 1977. She then developed a personal work, nourished by the thousand-year history of the site, one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan. Her language combines the strength of primitive forms with a contemporary search for texture, each piece becoming an encounter between earth, fire, and gesture. She participates in exhibitions in Japan and her works are presented by the Fukui Ceramics Museum, guarantor of the transmission of the Echizen tradition.

This vase, preserved in its signed wooden box (tomobako), is part of this lineage. It testifies to a desire to explore the earth in its most raw materiality, while echoing ancient rhythms. The object thus functions as a bridge between the origins of Japanese ceramics and the vitality of current creation.

25 x 20 cm