Tokoname Ware stoneware tsubo or storage jar in a large ovoid form, with a spectacular natural ash glaze cascading across the face. Muromachi period, 15th century.

This piece is among the important jars chosen for illustration in the classic study of Tokoname Ware, Jidai Betsu Ko-Tokoname Meihin Zuroku or A Compilation of Famous Old Tokoname Wares, plate 124. The text describes the jar as: Haiyu Otsubo or A Large Ash Glazed Jar, fired at the Chijyo Ogama kiln. The shape and ash glaze further noted as being exceptionally dynamic. Ex: Fujimoto Takumi Collection.

In the early years of the 20th century, Soetsu Yanagi discovered the beauty of objects made by anonymous craftsmen, and made the idea of mingei or folk art an essential part of Japanese culture. From this focus grew a new appreciation of medieval Japanese stonewares. Prized and collected now for their strong volcanic character, Tokoname Ware storage jars represent the synergy of skilled potters working in a utilitarian tradition with the unintended effects of flame and ash in a wood fired kiln. The best of these jars reveal the accidents of firing, with shards of less fortunate vessels fused to their surface, the cascading color of molten ash running across the seared red of the clay, a swelling lyrical form warped by the kiln with an individuality akin to the process of life itself. This jar balances all these qualities with a perfection and presence that surprises and compels.