Kyo-Sansai Incense Burner by Kato Takehiro - Kiyomizu Ware Four Guardians Landscape Koro

Experience Authentic Japanese Art with this Kyo-Sansai Koro. This Kiyomizu Ware Burner serves as a Japanese Koro Art and Kyoto Ceramic Art, featuring Four Guardians Koro and Incense Burner Art—a must-have for any Art Collector Gift seeking Tea Ceremony Incense and Zen Incense Holder.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]

• Artist: Kato Takehiro (加藤丈尋)
• Technique: Kyo-sansai (京三彩) — Kyoto three-color glaze with overglaze landscape painting
• Era: Contemporary (Heisei period)
• Origin: Kyoto, Japan (Kiyomizu-yaki tradition)
• Dimensions: Height approx. 11 cm (4.3 in), Diameter approx. 11 cm (4.3 in)
• Box: Signed tomobako with artist inscription and seal (共箱)
• Condition: Excellent — no chips, cracks, or repairs

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🔹 [ CULTURAL & ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]

The Kyo-sansai technique represents a sophisticated revival of Tang dynasty sancai ceramics through the refined lens of Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-yaki tradition. Where Chinese sancai employed lead-based glazes for funerary wares, Kyoto potters transformed the method into a living art form for the tea room and tokonoma alcove. The luminescent green, blue, and turquoise glazes on this koro are achieved through multiple firings with copper and cobalt oxides, each layer building upon the last to create extraordinary depth.

The landscape depicted across the body—mountains emerging from mist, rendered in dark iron pigment over the iridescent surface—draws from classical Chinese shanshui painting tradition filtered through Japanese sensibility. The Four Guardian Spirits (Shijin) that inhabit this landscape—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise—are cosmological protectors associated with the four cardinal directions, transforming this incense burner into a microcosm of the ordered universe.

This piece was exhibited at the Kyoto-Cologne Sister City 50th Anniversary Exhibition "Kyo-yaki: Beauty of Use," confirming its place within the recognized canon of contemporary Kyoto ceramics.

*"Mountains dissolve into glaze—where landscape ends and ceramic begins, even the maker cannot say."*

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]

**The Kyo-sansai Legacy**: Kyo-sansai emerged in the Meiji era as Kyoto potters sought to reinterpret continental ceramic traditions with distinctly Japanese aesthetics. Unlike the original Tang sancai’s burial context, Kyo-sansai pieces are functional art objects designed for daily contemplation. The technique demands mastery of multiple glaze chemistries and precise kiln temperature control, as each color responds differently to heat.

**Technical Achievement**: The iridescent quality of this koro’s surface results from the interaction between copper-based green glaze and cobalt blue at specific reduction atmospheres during firing. The mountain landscape is painted in iron oxide before the final glaze application, creating a layer that appears to float within the glass-like surface rather than sitting on top of it.

**The Four Guardians Tradition**: The Shijin motif carries deep cosmological significance in East Asian culture. In the context of incense ceremony (kodo), placing a vessel bearing the Four Guardians creates a ritually complete space—the rising incense smoke becomes the fifth element connecting heaven and earth within the protected quadrants.

**Collector Significance**: Exhibition provenance—particularly from cultural exchange events between Kyoto and international sister cities—marks pieces that have been vetted by institutional curators. The Kyoto-Cologne exhibition specifically selected works demonstrating the intersection of functional beauty and artistic achievement in contemporary Kyo-yaki.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]

【基本情報】
• 作家：加藤丈尋
• 技法：京三彩（銅・コバルト系釉薬による三彩表現）
• 時代：現代（平成期）
• 産地：京都（清水焼）
• 寸法：高さ約11cm、胴径約11cm
• 付属：共箱（作家署名・落款入り）
• 状態：良好——カケ・ヒビ等なし

【解説】
京三彩は、中国唐三彩の技法を京都の美意識で再解釈した装飾技法である。本作は銅とコバルトによる緑・青・翠色の釉薬が幾層にも重ねられ、光の加減で色彩が変化する深い奥行きを持つ。胴部に描かれた山水図は鉄絵によるもので、釉薬の下に沈むように見える幻想的な表現を生み出している。

四神（青龍・白虎・朱雀・玄武）は四方位の守護神であり、香炉にこの図様を配すことで、立ち上る香煙が天地を結ぶ第五の元素となる宇宙観を体現する。京都・ケルン姉妹都市50周年記念「京焼―用の美展」出品作であり、制度的な評価を得た作品でもある。

加藤丈尋氏は京焼清水焼の伝統を継承しつつ、現代的な色彩感覚で古典技法を再構築する作家である。本作の虹彩を帯びた釉面は、還元焔での精密な焚成制御によってのみ実現可能なものであり、技術的な完成度の高さを物語っている。

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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

*Where smoke rises through painted mountains, the boundary between vessel and landscape dissolves into silence.*