I hear you, tenuki... that Bachman Eckenstein site has some gems, if that is where you were looking.
I wonder how much antique chawan go for?
Seeing as that red Chawan is starting to look a little garish and costs $7000 besides, and the 18th Century Edo piece is probably out of my price range, and it is now Shincha season, here this is the one teaware item I currently want, in the "that-I-might-actually-be-able-to-afford-in-the-foreseeable-future" category:




Apr 25th, '08, 15:15
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Nice Joel. Have you ever tried ordering direct from Tokoname? I was pretty darn pleased with my interactions with them and there isn't the artistic nippon markup.
the pots in the tokoname catalog are not photographed as well of course, but they are the same pots. I wonder though if AN might not have some exlusive, or some from older catalogs that are out of production, so they are a good source that I have ordered from.
Anyway, just curious.
that is a sweet pot. I told my wife I wanted to go live in Tokoname and become a pot maker and she panicked like I was gonna do it tomorrow, cause she knows me. lol.
the pots in the tokoname catalog are not photographed as well of course, but they are the same pots. I wonder though if AN might not have some exlusive, or some from older catalogs that are out of production, so they are a good source that I have ordered from.
Anyway, just curious.
that is a sweet pot. I told my wife I wanted to go live in Tokoname and become a pot maker and she panicked like I was gonna do it tomorrow, cause she knows me. lol.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
Thank you for the suggestion, I didn't even realize Tokoname sold directly. So, craftsmen like Hokujo work for or at Tokoname? I couldn't find that teapot on the Tokoname catalog, but I might be missing it, there are hundreds to look through.tenuki wrote:Nice Joel. Have you ever tried ordering direct from Tokoname?
Apr 25th, '08, 19:09
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joelbct wrote:Thank you for the suggestion, I didn't even realize Tokoname sold directly. So, craftsmen like Hokujo work for or at Tokoname?tenuki wrote:Nice Joel. Have you ever tried ordering direct from Tokoname?
Don't know, that may be another value add from AN eh? Ask them when you email them and let us know what you find out!
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
I imagine that the Tokoname website is something akin to a local Chamber of Commerce and has an exceptional number of producers lined up in their catalog. I would venture to guess that a majority of their pieces are produced in the slipcasting method, eg, in molds.
Hokujo and many other craftsman work for themselves of their kiln and sell to many vendors. I gather that the proprietor of AN and Hokujo have a good working relationship.
Hokujo and many other craftsman work for themselves of their kiln and sell to many vendors. I gather that the proprietor of AN and Hokujo have a good working relationship.
Apr 25th, '08, 19:31
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That sounds about right. There are several pots in the tokoname catalog that look similar to the one I bought from artistic nippon, so I don't think the catalog is a 'lesser' source. It is probably a less documented source for those of us who can't read japanese though. and you can probably get only certain pots via AN.
My take on the whole thing is that unless you are over 200 bucks and one-off pieces all AN does is add better photography and documentation in english.
but it's all up to you to figure this out joel! we are counting on you!
My take on the whole thing is that unless you are over 200 bucks and one-off pieces all AN does is add better photography and documentation in english.

but it's all up to you to figure this out joel! we are counting on you!
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
Well, Toru has been rather kind so I will probably continue to bestow my humble teaware patronage upon Artistic Nippon as well as other vendors.
And again, I did not notice that particular Hokujo kyusu in the Tokoname 08 catalog, so I will just email Tokoname and ask if they carry Hokujo-ware, and if so, which page(s) they are on the catalog.
And I'll have the report on your desk first thing in the morning Tenuki
And again, I did not notice that particular Hokujo kyusu in the Tokoname 08 catalog, so I will just email Tokoname and ask if they carry Hokujo-ware, and if so, which page(s) they are on the catalog.
And I'll have the report on your desk first thing in the morning Tenuki

Apr 25th, '08, 22:28
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I am all ears for that report!!!joelbct wrote:Well, Toru has been rather kind so I will probably continue to bestow my humble teaware patronage upon Artistic Nippon as well as other vendors.
And again, I did not notice that particular Hokujo kyusu in the Tokoname 08 catalog, so I will just email Tokoname and ask if they carry Hokujo-ware, and if so, which page(s) they are on the catalog.
And I'll have the report on your desk first thing in the morning Tenuki
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
Apr 27th, '08, 06:30
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I guess this should be filed under the catagory 'I WANT - TO KNOW'.joelbct wrote: And again, I did not notice that particular Hokujo kyusu in the Tokoname 08 catalog, so I will just email Tokoname and ask if they carry Hokujo-ware, and if so, which page(s) they are on the catalog.
And I'll have the report on your desk first thing in the morning Tenuki

I found the pot I ordered from Artistic Nippon in the 07 catalog as #983 on page 44. I'm going to look at the artist mark on my pot tomorrow and see if it fits with anything in the catalog. Anyone read Japanese? Interestingly enough it is listed in the catalog as 3,700 yen, which is essentially the same price as AN, and shipping through them was the same price as well. I did get a discount off the catalog price when I ordered direct from Tokoname btw, didn't ask for it so I assume it's SOP. So I still think you can get things cheaper direct from tokoname.
From the tokoname website... (note the name of this image is hokujo....)

Another datapoint. All three tokoname pots (from AN, Tokoname direct, and Uwajimaya) I have came in exactly the same style box with the same logo (with No. 3,4,2 indicating different styles) - which says Tokoname-Yaki.
Very interested to find out more!

( ps, my google search led me to this history, pretty interesting stuff if you are into history - http://www.tokonameteapots.com/history.html, http://www.japan-net.ne.jp/~tokoname/tokonae2.htm, http://www.japan-net.ne.jp/~tokoname/history1.htm , http://www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/tokoname1.htm)
I still can't find those Hokujo pots in the catalog, perhaps I will look again after I make myself some tea. The one on the left in the picture is the Yohen Hokujo that AN is selling for 128... It is the flat one, not the spherical one I posted, but I like it as well, and would order it if the cost is less than it is through AN. The one in the middle is nice too.tenuki wrote: From the tokoname website... (note the name of this image is hokujo....)
So far no one has gotten back to me from the ceramics@japan-net.ne.jp email, which is getting annoying... at least Toru responds quickly.
Apr 27th, '08, 11:22
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Hokujo = Shimizu Genji, right?
That probably doesn't help, I just want to make sure I'm not losing my mind.
That probably doesn't help, I just want to make sure I'm not losing my mind.
Tea Nerd - www.teanerd.com
http://www.yamaderakk.co.jp/newhokujo.html
Here is the widest catalog of Hokujo's work that I have seen in once place, to help or further confuse you.
While I am his 2nd biggest fan, I am not wild about some of the experimentation he has done here with spouts. I wouldn't mind having the plain brown "dimple pot" as Toru calls it. HJ-29.
Don't forget that there are 3 pages here, look closely.
Here is the widest catalog of Hokujo's work that I have seen in once place, to help or further confuse you.
While I am his 2nd biggest fan, I am not wild about some of the experimentation he has done here with spouts. I wouldn't mind having the plain brown "dimple pot" as Toru calls it. HJ-29.
Don't forget that there are 3 pages here, look closely.
Last edited by brandon on Apr 27th, '08, 13:33, edited 1 time in total.