Hirasa Ware porcelain tokkuri or sake bottle of Bekko or Tortoiseshell type, in a square form with a black-violet and yellow-orange flame-like glaze. Inscribed on the base with the characters for Hirasa. From Kagoshima. Late Edo Period, mid 19th century.

Examples of tortoiseshell glazed Hirasa Ware are illustrated in Nihon Yakimono Shusei, Volume 12, Kyushu Part II, page 70, numbers 387 – 389, and a candlestick in the collection of the Tokyo Mingeikan is illustrated in Mingei: The Works of Unknown Craftsmen in Japanese Tradition, number 68.