Hamada Shoji Attributed Nuka-Glaze Bowl Mingei Living National Treasure

A wide, flared bowl attributed to Hamada Shoji — Living National Treasure and co-founder of the Mingei folk craft movement — bearing a tomobako inscribed "海鼠釉 鉢 / 庄司" with red seal. The form opens in a broad, asymmetric sweep from a grounded foot ring, its silhouette neither perfectly round nor forced into symmetry. That refusal of perfection is the object's authorship.

The nuka-yuu (sea cucumber glaze) moves across the surface in shifting registers: dark iron-brown at the base transitions through zones of slate-blue and muted ash-grey, punctuated by flashes where the glaze pools and breaks open. The lip is irregular, hand-finished, carrying the memory of the maker's touch at the moment of completion. This is not decoration applied to a form. The glaze and the form are a single decision.

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[ BASIC DETAILS ]
• Type: Hachi (wide serving bowl / display bowl)
• Dimensions: Approx. 20.5 cm diameter × 9.5 cm height
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition consistent with age and use
• Provenance: Tomobako (original wooden box) inscribed "海鼠釉 鉢 / 庄司" with red seal
• Era: Showa period
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Hamada Shoji (1894–1978) received the title of Living National Treasure in 1955 — the highest honor the Japanese government bestows upon a craftsperson. He trained under Bernard Leach in England, established his kiln in Mashiko, and devoted his life to demonstrating that functional pottery could carry the weight of art without the pretense of it. The nuka glaze — derived from rice-husk ash — was one of his most closely associated materials: unpredictable, mineral, resistant to easy beauty.

A bowl attributed to Hamada arrives with its box, its inscription, and the accumulated gravity of a life spent insisting that ordinary objects deserve serious attention. Its presence in a room is felt before it is explained.

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【日本語説明】
濱田庄司（伝）の海鼠釉鉢。共箱に「海鼠釉 鉢 / 庄司」の墨書・朱印あり。暗褐色から藍灰色へと変化する海鼠釉が全体を覆い、口縁は手仕事の痕跡を留める。民藝運動を代表する人間国宝の作として、コレクターに広く知られる逸品です。状態良好。
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🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials