D.8cm H.10cm
EIRAKU Wazen (Eiraku Zengoro, the 12th)
1823 - 1896
Eldest son of Hozen (Eiraku Zengoro, the 11th). He inherited the 12th generation name of Eiraku due to his father Hozen's retirement. After that, he was invited by Maeda Toshinaka of the domain of Daishoji in Kaga. After returning to Kyoto, he changed his surname in 1872 (fourth year of the Meiji Era) to Eiraku (up until that point, his surname had been Nishimura and Eiraku was an alias) and two years later, he was invited to Okazaki in Aichi Prefecture and opened a kiln there. He created a wide range of pottery, mainly of the gold brocade Kinrande style, the Nankin style, Gosuakae red pottery and others and Western tableware etc.
In his later years, he moved near Kodai-ji temple in eastern Kyoto and opened the Kikutani Kiln. It was from this point onward that he started to become hard of hearing, and he began to call himself "Jiroken" which is a name that includes the words, "deaf ears."
His style has a wide breadth, including the Ninsei style, the gold brocade Kinrande style, Akae red pottery, Kochi ware and celadon. He also created his own techniques, such as using gold leaf in the gold brocade Kinrande style, compared to Hozen, who instead used gold paint.
Contact about the Item