MINO YAKI (美濃焼き )-Ceramics of Gifu Prefecture

Minoyaki is made in the Gifu Prefecture and has been since the 1500's. The Mino group covers many different companies, kilns and potters.  Mino pottery is usually marked with name or special marking  of the company, kiln and/or indvidual artist.

Link: http://www.mino-japan.com/

Minoyaki is broken down into four main styles: Shino (including nezumi-shino), Oribe, Ki-seto(yellow) and kuro-seto (black). Then there is the everyday tableware that is also made in the Mino area.

Here is a link to the history of Mino Yaki

http://www.explorejapaneseceramics.com/towns/mino/mino-history.html

Takagi Noritoshi of Heisei Gama
高木典利 平正窯

http://artisjapan.net/?action=1&num=11071

KOZANGAMA

Kozangama is a house brand of the Maebata China Corporation. According to the book "Visiting the Mino Kilns" by Janet Barriskill pg. 75, the company began in 1945. The  headquarters are,located In Maebata-cho in Tajimi. The factory is located in the Tajimi Mino Pottery Wholesale Center. As of the printing of the book (1995) she identifies three labels: Kozangama with traditional Japanese designs, Kinyu-an with old Japanese designs and Utsuwakan which is western-modern.

                            

                                          *see my separate section labeled Kozangama 

                                              http://maebata.jp/products/seika-ryokusai/

Some of the marks Kozangama has used.

OTHER Series MARKS BY MAEBATA

Utsuwan falls under the Maebata umbrella. They have series of china like White Shell, White Party, Poem and many others.  Marks may be printed on or incised. 

MADE FOR MAEBATA 

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Koubei Gama

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Minoyaki medium sized bowl with Hijiri (ひじり) MARK

This is also a Hijiri Gama mark, I assume from the same kiln. Thank you to Carrie Lambert for supplying the mark.

                                                  

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Minoyaki rice bowl Sanpo (三峰) MARK

There is a Sanpo Toen in Mino

DAIKICHI GAMA (大吉窯)

SHINO

                                                                   Kikyoya Gama 

                                                     ********************************

                                                                             

      

     










 Shino bowl by Shusen Kiln. (秀泉窯) AKA Shusen Toen 秀泉陶苑

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Shino tea cups by Mizuno Shusan 水野守山　(also read Moriyama) 

Shuzan/ Moriyama MARK

美濃寿窯 水野守山作
Mino Kotobuki gama Mizuno Shuzan

     

 

               

                            

     
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This company seems to make many styles of Japanese tea bowls. This one below is in Karatsu style. It has the same two lines marking. 

Additionally there is the Zansetsu tea cup with the same mark which is usually just labeled as Mino Yaki, Nihon sei, or Mino ware, made in Japan, but obviously made by the Marusho kiln. 

http://www.minoyakiguide.com/misc0913.php?k=&c=09&p=1&s=

Marusho/Ensho kiln (圓正窯) and Marusho Kato Ceramics (丸正加藤製陶所) are the same

NEZUMI-SHINO

Nezumi-shino tea cups by Shusen  Kiln (秀泉窯)   
　　

This nezumi shino is made by the Shusen kiln

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Shuzan Kiln

Shuzan  Gama

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Kato Shozan 



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SANYO-TOKI

(Went bankrupt )

Chikusai Kiln? (竹斎) MARK

Chikusai Kiln (竹斎) MARK

Ryuho Kiln (龍峰) MARK

                           Ryuho is a Sanyo Toki brand for Japanese style dinnerware (和食器)
For some reason this mark is often mistaken as Arita, Imari or Tobe Yaki. Perhaps it is the patterns and styles used, but it was produced in the Mino region.  

"M" China Mark

                                                              GENERIC-No Mark

                                           

                                                        Factory made Mino sake cups

                                                       **************************************

                                                

             Unmarked Mino tea pot in the snow. This was purchased in Toki, Gifu prefecture.

Marked 雪峰, which can be read Seppou, Yukimine  or Kukimine….It means snow peak.

Some blogs and auctions on line say this is Arita Yakima but the box indicates Mino Yaki. One blog erroneously listed this as Juzan Gama Hasami Yaki. It in no way reads Juzan. It keeps being perpetuated. 

Koho or Takamine 

     HIROYAMA GAMA  弘山窯 

FUDOH GAMA 不動窯

                                                  ふどう

GENSHOU GAMA

GOZAN GAMA 

SHUNYUEN 春雄苑 Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture

GYOKUZAN GAMA

TOUSEN 陶扇

TENKAICHI CHIKUGO GAMA

NAKASHIMA MASAO

Hozan 保山

Yomogi Gama 四方木窯　(Furuta Kōzō kiln 古田浩三)

 

                                              https://www.mirviss.com/artists/hori-ichiro

                                         Photo permission Colleen Simpson, info Jeffrey Bernstein