The outside of the small sake-cup has several panels in the brocade background, in which men and women and landscapes are drawn. Inside, Chinese poetry is written by Takahashi Hokuzan (高橋北山), who is said to be the forerunner of fine characters. Since this fine character was unique to Meiji Kutani, it was called “kutani fine character”, and in addition to Chinese characters, hiragana characters were also famous.

size: caliber about 4.2 cm, height about 5.9 cm

The subject of this work is Chinese poetry written in kutani fine character. “春江花月夜” recorded in “唐詩選” is written in fine kanji by Takahashi. The poetry means that flowers bloom on the riverside in spring, and the bright moon is shining in night.

 

The subject of this work is Chinese poetry written in kutani fine character. “春江花月夜” recorded in “唐詩選” is written in fine kanji by Takahashi. The poetry means that flowers bloom on the riverside in spring, and the bright moon is shining in night.

The back name is written as “九谷kutani / made by鏑木Kaburagi”, and “written by 北山Hokuzan” is written at the end of the inner Chinese poetry. 鏑木Kaburagi is a leading pottery merchant in Kanazawa, so considering the relationship between Chinese poetry and painting, this cup is believed to be　written and painited by Takahashi.

creator of the work

Takahashi Hokuzan　高橋 北山　　born in 1866, died in 1936.

Takahashi was born in the family of the Kaga clan. In 1882, Hokuzan started studying porcelain painting, trained and refined his skills. He often produced works finished with gold. After that, he created kutani in various painting type by building a kiln for burning picture on the body, or asked some painters to make kutani works at the kiln.