19.  Miura Chikusen 

CHIKUSEN Miura Chikusen (1854 - 1915)

竹軒 / 三浦 竹泉

 

There are several generations of the pottersfamily Chikusen, of which the first Miura Chikusen, working in Meiji period, is in this context the most important. It must be said that also the later generations Chikusen were very skillful potters. The Chikusen kiln probably still exists, untill recent under the leadership of the fifth generation of Chikusen.

Miura Chikusen was born in 1854 as Watanabe Masakichi, as the second son of Watanabe Ihei,who owned “Kazuyasu-dô” a tea store in Kyoto. In 1867, when he was 13 year old, he became a student of Takahashi Dôhachi III (1811-1879). In 1883 he opened his own kiln at Gojozaka in Kyoto.

 

The mark of Chikusen I

In his early years he became known for his celadon ware, using different types of glazing and later on for applying various western techniques  and colors on Japanese porcelain. Chikusen developed a transparent glazing called Yuyaku-Tomeimon and started  in 1904 to insert jade and other semiprecious stone as well as coral for decoration on Sometsuke porcelain. He received great reception at the  Chicago and Paris Expositions. He is seen as one of the most important representatives of e- gorai, a pottery style strongly derived from the pottery developed in the Cizhou kilns in China during the early Ming period. It was later widely copied in Korea and introduced in Japan at the end of the 16th century. It is characterized by a decoration that is usually applied with a dark iron-oxide on a white or light brown slip. 

 

Miura Chikusen I was an exceptionally skilled potter who specialized in Kiyomizu-yaki and Kyo-yaki high-quality porcelains used in sencha tea ceremony.  In this genre, he is one of the most important artists in the country and his porcelain was considered to be of the highest level throughout the Meiji era, which is still highly appreciated among tea lovers today. Chikusen was in Meiji time a well known figure in artistic Kyoto. Besides of an exceptionally skilled potter, he also was an accomplished painter, poet, and calligraphist. In 1903 he published the ‘T’ao Shuo’, (Wakan Taisho Tosetsu), a Japanese Chinese Comparison Ceramic Study. 

 

Chikusen died in 1915, after handing over his kiln to his son Chikusen Miura II (1882-1918). Chikusen II was succeeded after his death by his younger brother Chikusen Miura III (1900-90) who was to lead the family kiln to 1934. He handed the kiln over to his nephew, Chikusen II's son, who had  reached the age of majority and  became the fourth generation Chikusen Miura IV (1911-1976). Chikusen III himself then opened his own kiln and continued under the name Chikken, specializing in the traditional Kenzan-Ninsei styles. Chikken Miura gained great fame for his exceptional technique and won many prizes. 

 

Chikusen IV handed the kiln over in 1972 to his eldest son, Chikusen V  (born in 1934) who is the fifth and according to our information the last generation of the Chikusen dynasty.

 

Examples of work by Chikusen I
1. A chawan (umebachi) in a classic style known as e-Gorai or e- Karatsu.
2. A vase decorated in underglaze blue and purple enamel and inlaid in coral, green agate and other stones.
3. A large porcelain vase covered in olive green upon which grows a rush of white bamboo and at the other site a brief epitaph.
4. A masterpiece of calligraphy and design is this bowl on which is written in perfectly formed characters the virtues of the scholar life and way of tea through the Gyokusen Chaka (Song of Tea).

Chikusen I:  Porcelain tripod koro in the form of a Jue, a ritual wine vessel , decorated with pastoral scene in Japanese country side. 

Examples of work by the later generations of the Chikusen family, showing that they all were exceptional ceramic artists.