Izumi Kisen Turtle Island Kogo — Kame-no-Su Ceramic Incense Box, Warm Amber Glaze, Tomobako

An island held in two hands. A turtle held in place by nothing at all.

Izumi Kisen shaped this kame-no-su kogo — turtle's nest, or turtle island — as a ceramic landscape: irregular, rocky, the coastline unresolved in the way real coastlines are. The warm amber glaze pools into dark green-brown hollows where the stone would be coolest, lightens across the raised ridges where the sun would reach. A small turtle rests on the summit, fully present, unhurried. The piece divides at the waterline. The lid is the island itself.

The tomobako inscription reads 亀の洲 香合 — turtle island incense box — alongside the artist's notation of the associated tea kettle, Shōun-gama.

In Japanese culture, the turtle carries the weight of longevity, stability, and the sea. In the tea room, a kogo in this form appears at occasions where time is being marked — a season, an anniversary, a gathering that will be remembered. The form asks nothing elaborate of itself. It simply represents endurance.

Condition: Very good. Glaze intact, no chips. Tomobako included.

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【泉喜仙 亀の洲香合 松雲釜】

亀の洲を象った陶製香合。温かみのある琥珀色の釉が岩礁の凹凸に深みある陰影を生み、天辺には小さな亀が佇みます。島の水際で蓋が分かれる造形が秀逸。共箱の銘は「亀の洲 香合」。長寿と不変の象徴である亀を写した、茶席に場の静けさをもたらす逸品です。

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