Hakeme Guinomi Sake Cup by Living National Treasure Shimaoka Tatsuzo Signed Box

A hakeme (brush-slip) guinomi by Shimaoka Tatsuzo — Living National Treasure (Ningen Kokuho) — one of the 20th century's most significant Japanese folk craft (mingei) potters, signed and presented with its original wooden box.

The cup carries the visual signature of Shimaoka's mature practice: broad, diagonal brushstrokes of white slip over a dark stoneware body, with an abstract dark painted motif — possibly a stylized arrow or plant form — applied over the slip. The base is an unglazed dark stoneware, the footring substantial and grounding. The rim is slightly irregular, the walls asymmetric in their width — each element consistent with the mingei principle that the hand's movement, rather than the machine's precision, is the surface's record. The wooden box bears the inscription 刷毛目ぐい呑 (hakeme guinomi) with Shimaoka's signature and seal.

【 Basic Details 】
• Type: Guinomi (sake cup)
• Technique: Hakeme (brush-applied white slip)
• Artist: Shimaoka Tatsuzo (島岡達三, 1919–2007)
• Designation: Ningen Kokuho (Living National Treasure), designated 1996
• Diameter: approx. 7 cm (mouth)
• Condition: Good, consistent with use and age
• Provenance: Signed wooden box (tomobako)

【 Cultural Insight 】
Shimaoka Tatsuzo was a direct disciple of Hamada Shoji — himself a Living National Treasure and one of the architects of the Japanese mingei (folk craft) movement alongside Yanagi Soetsu. Shimaoka developed the technique of jomon zogan (rope-impressed inlay), but his hakeme work demonstrates an equal mastery of the brush as a structural tool rather than a decorative instrument. The white slip brushstroke on this cup is not ornament — it is the bowl's form expressed in paint.

【 Deep Dive 】
Hakeme, the technique of applying white slip with a wide, stiff brush in loose strokes, comes from Korean folk pottery traditions (Joseon period buncheong ware) and was adopted and reinterpreted by Japanese mingei potters. In Shimaoka's hands, the strokes carry a directional energy — each pull of the brush leaves a record of its movement across the wet clay surface. The abstract motif painted over the slip adds a second layer of intention: a mark that acknowledges the slip ground beneath it while asserting its own presence. A guinomi of this authorship is a document of two of Japan's most important craft lineages — Hamada's direct teaching and Korean ceramic influence.

【 日本語説明 】
人間国宝・島岡達三作の刷毛目ぐい呑です。白化粧土の大胆な刷毛目と鉄絵具による抽象的な意匠が特徴的な一品。浜田庄司に師事し、縄文象嵌の技法でも知られる作家の確かな手仕事が伝わります。共箱付き。

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• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials