This is a vintage Shino-yaki tea bowl 志野焼 茶碗 with a bamboo shoot motif 筍絵, made by Wakao Shōen 若尾昇苑, a contemporary-to-modern ceramic artist associated with the Takada kilns of Toki City, Gifu Prefecture.
The bowl has a warm, rounded form with a softly irregular rim, giving it a natural handmade presence. The glaze is characteristic of Shino ware, with a milky white surface, fine crackle, reddish iron speckles, and warm orange-brown firing marks. Around the body, the bamboo shoot design is painted in iron pigment, appearing through the glaze with a spontaneous and rustic feeling. The motif gives the bowl a fresh seasonal atmosphere, symbolizing growth, vitality, and the arrival of spring.
Shino-yaki is traditionally produced in Gifu Prefecture. It developed during the Momoyama period and became closely connected with Japanese tea culture. Shino ware is admired for its thick white glaze, soft clay body, iron decoration, natural kiln effects, and quiet wabi-sabi beauty. Each piece has its own unique glaze movement, crackle, and firing expression.
The artist Wakao Shōen 若尾昇苑 is regarded as a contemporary / modern master ceramicist. His career and main production period extended from the late Shōwa period into the Heisei period, in the late 20th century. Rather than being a widely public exhibition-focused figure, he worked as a traditional kiln craftsman, and his records are mainly connected to workshop activity at the Takada kilns in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture.
Size: 13 x 13 x 8cm
