Beautiful wood-fired Japanese pottery teacup or drinking cup by the artist Yoshiyuki Satake (b. 1950).

A very well-executed object. The form is slightly oval, good to hold even for a person with smaller hands. The firing of the object is very talented combination of natural ash glaze from the wood-firing and the unglazed firing colors of the Shigaraki clay. 

Comes with the original signed wooden box and exhibition postcard from 2008.  The cup has no damage. In unused condition.

Height: 9 cm

Wide: 7.5 cm

Depth: 6.2 cm 

Weight: 295 grams

Volume 30 cl to the brim

Heisei - era 

As the artist has very little available information online this is what I found out about his career based on a interview from Japanese media as of 2008:

Work Habits and Dedication

• He spends half of the year preparing firewood for his kiln.
• Each firing lasts 10 consecutive days and consumes as much wood as four 4-ton trucks can carry.
• He fires his kiln four times per year.
• He cuts the trees himself in the mountains and uses a chainsaw to split the wood into both large and small pieces.

Career Change and Training

• He is a datsusara-gumi (someone who changed careers mid-life), having started pottery after the age of 30.
• He studied under Kubota Naofumi in Mashiko.
• He left his teacher after only six months because he "wanted to start making his own work as soon as possible."
• He was drawn to the world of yakishime (high-fired unglazed pottery) after encountering the works of Hashimoto Makoto, a potter from Nikko.

Kiln and Materials

• He built his own ana-gama (climbing kiln) in Nasu Town. The current kiln is his second one.
• His first wood-fired kiln was built by a professional kiln builder, but it could not produce the results he wanted, so he researched literature and built the second one himself.
• He uses Shigaraki, Iga and Bizen clay.
• He fires with shizen-yū (natural glaze) and hai-yū (ash glaze).

Aesthetic Preferences and Style Evolution

• Earlier preference: He used to find the area near the firebox (the hottest part of the kiln) "difficult to handle" because he preferred a matte finish rather than a glossy, shiny surface.
• Recent preference (as of 2008): He has come to like the green glassy effect (bidoro) created when pine ash melts on the pottery. As a result, he now uses that hotter area of the kiln more frequently.

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FOR BUYERS FROM THE USA:

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