White glaze is applied on the ground of brown clay, thinly leaving the brush marks visible on the finished surface, on top of which fine and straight black lines are painted densely. In terms of its form, instead of an art object, this vase is made as a conventional round vessel. Nevertheless, its motif is clearly of Yagi Kazuo, speaking of the artist’s characteristics. Similar decoration style is found in the 1968 works Tube “Advancing” and Tube “Bird Entering into a Cloud.” When look closely, the viewer may find the hollow part of this vase’s mouth playful and interesting. The seal “※” can be read as a combined pattern of the two kanji characters of his family name, “ya-gi,” demonstrating the artist’s well-balanced sense of aesthetic and humor.

Yagi Kazuo (ceramist; 1918–1979)
Kyoto-born ceramist. Initiated and lead the avant-garde ceramists’ group Sodei-sha, and pioneered the revolution in Japan’s ceramic field.