Antique Japanese Dai-tokkuri/Hanaire Vase – Yakishime – 20 cm – Bizen-yaki – Shōwa period

📐 Specifications

• Estimated era: Shōwa 20th century, probably second half
• Origin: Japan, found in Yamaguchi prefecture
• Style: Bizen-yaki 備前焼
• Material: Japanese stoneware with mineral texture
• Technique: Yakishime 焼締め, high-temperature firing without glaze
• Usage: Dai-tokkuri 大徳利, large sake bottle / Hanaire 花入, vase for ikebana
• Shape: Tokkuri-gata 徳利形, sake bottle shape
• Dimensions: Height approx. 20 cm – Widest diameter approx. 10 cm
• Weight: 707g
• Condition: Very good vintage condition, no visible cracks or chips
• Mark: Square seal (Kaimon) stamped on the base, workshop signature

Description

This Japanese yakishime stoneware piece takes the form of a Dai-tokkuri 大徳利, a traditional large sake bottle, with generous proportions. With its 20 cm height and wide rounded body, it exceeds the size of a small serving tokkuri and falls into a more decorative category, which can also be used as a Hanaire 花入, a Japanese vase for ikebana.

Its raw, unglazed surface evokes the world of Yakishime Bizen-yaki 備前焼: a sober and powerful Japanese ceramic, where shades of brown, black, and ferrous tones are born from the encounter between earth, fire, and ash. The stoneware is fired at very high temperatures for several days in a wood-fired kiln, without the addition of artificial glaze. This piece is profoundly wabi-sabi, both rustic and timeless.

The narrow-necked silhouette clearly recalls Japanese sake bottles, but its dimensions also make it a very beautiful Japanese decoration object of the Hanaire 花入 type, ideal simply placed or with a single flower or a minimalist floral arrangement.

🦝 Our opinion

We love the size and ambiguity of this piece, halfway between a large ceremonial tokkuri and a Hanaire vase for Ikebana. Its simple form concentrates all the power of Japanese fire ceramics: dense earth, natural firing, deep nuances, and no pursuit of superfluous effects. Placed alone, it already becomes a wabi-sabi decorative object that makes an impression; with a branch or a flower, it reveals all its silent elegance. We love it!