Kimura Tōhō 木村陶峰 (*1928)

Elegant Bizen tea caddy (chaire) of the round bunrin type, made by Kimura Tōhō (*1928). Rice straw cords soaked in salt water were wrapped around the unglazed body during firing, leaving red marks on the surface. This ancient technique, already known from pieces of the Momoyama period (1573-1603), is called hidasuki ("red ribbon" or "fire cords").

Kimura Tōhō was born in Bizen in 1928. As the eldest son of Kimura Seiji, he took over the old, traditional family workshop in 1967. His kiln is called Tōshō-en (lit. "True Clay Garden"), which was established by his father in 1913. His father, Seiji, was born into one of the most important pottery families in Japan, as the Kimura family was honored by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) himself as one of the six great pottery families of Bizen. Seiji was the second son of Kimura XXII (Kimura Chōjūrō) and therefore not the official heir to the old family business, so he established his own kiln. Kimura Tōhō's real name is Kimura Tsuyoshi (lit. "the Strong One"), which is why he often signs his pieces with the character "chikara 力" - meaning "strength". As a former vice chairman of the Bizen Pottery Association Tōyū-kai, as well as a former vice president of the Okayama Prefecture Bizen Pottery Museum, he has been heavily involved in the official Bizen scene in Japan.

The chaire is signed Tōhō 陶峰. Comes with fitted and signed wooden box and silk pouch (shifuku). The box's inscription reads: Bizen hidasuki yaki bunrin chaire, made by Tōhō 備前火襷焼文琳茶入陶峰造. Sealed Kimura 木村.

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