The elaborate painting style of Nakamura Shuto was a symbolic one which was proud of the elegance of Enuma kutani. This work is characterized by inheriting the red elaborate paintings represented by Takeuchi Ginshu (竹内吟秋) and his younger brother Asai Ichimo (浅井一毫). It is a fine drawing work expressed only with red and gold while emphasizing the whiteness of the body.

size; caliber 2.2 cm, torso width about 8.8 cm, height about 16 cm

On the surface of the plump torso of sake bottle, a pair of sparrows is returning to the bamboo grove nest. Sparrows and bamboo were often drawn together since ancient times. The highlight is that one sparrow is lovely drawn as turning around to watch over the other.

From the neck to the torso of the sake bottle, patterns such as waves, lattices, and arabesque are finely drawn, also the pattern of arrow wings at the bottom is extremely precise drawing.

The back name is written as “九谷kutani / produced by 秋塘Shuto”. Since Nakamura was the owner of the kiln, it is thought that he wrote not “painted by Shuto” but “produced by Shuto”

creator of the work

The first Nakamura Shuto　中村 秋塘　　born in 1865 and died in 1928.

Nakamura Shuto was born in Daishoji, and when he was 12 years old, in 1877, he succeeded his father’s porcelain painting business (started in 1868). In 1878, he entered the private school “Ishin-sha”, which was founded by Takeuchi Ginshu (竹内吟秋) to teach porcelain painting, and Nakamura learned porcelain painting.

In this way, he made use of his father’s remains and the teachings of Takeuchi Ginshu. After that, extensively studying the techniques of various kilns, he demonstrated his outstanding skills in red and gold painting. It can be said that the delicate painting style of Nakamura Shuto was inherited from the essence of Enuma kutani, which boasted a high level of elegance.