Makers · 作家 · Tokoname
Juodo Shosen
十王堂松泉1902–1995
The first generation of Yamaaki. He went out on his own in 1920 and made bonsai pots from then on — and no impression of his own mark is documented here.
At a glance
- Art name
- Juōdō Shōsen 十王堂松泉 — the first generation
- Real name
- 片岡秋次
- Dates
- 1902–1995
- Independent
- 1920
- Workshop
- Yamaaki Pottery 株式会社山秋製陶所
- Standing
- Recorded in 2006 as the largest maker of high-grade Tokoname bonsai pots
- Lines
- Ware made in numbers; and handmade pots, single or in short limited runs
- Succession
- The handmade line passed from him to the second generation, Shōsen, earlier Ko-Shōsen 小松泉
01 · 落款 The mark
A mark with no impression documented
There is no photograph of a pot on this page, and that is deliberate. The reason is the section you are reading.
The record illustrates two representative marks for this workshop. Neither one is his. Both belong to the second generation.
Two marks are documented for the workshop. Neither is his.
The one mark of his own currently known is 金華造印, on pre-war pots. No impression of it is documented here, and other forms may exist.
So the marks set out below are mostly his successor's. Those cannot identify a pot as his; they can only rule him out. They do other work as well — they say the pot is handmade, and whether it was made before or after he succeeded to the name.
His own 金華造印 is recorded as his. But with no impression documented, there is nothing to match a pot against.
02 · 年代 Dating
1995, and which name is on the pot
He died in 1995, and that year is the hinge for the whole workshop.
On handmade Yamaaki pots the second generation signed 小松泉, Ko-Shōsen, before he succeeded to the name, and 松泉, Shōsen, afterwards — both nail-carved and stamped. So a handmade pot marked Ko-Shōsen was made before 1995; one marked Shōsen after it. The workshop has its own page, with four documented marks set out.
His own ground lies further back: the pre-war pots carrying 金華造印, and the 愛閒老人型 forms. The assessment of those is worth having for what it implies — once age is on them, they are hard work to tell apart from Chinese pots.
03 · 土 The body
Chamotte, sawdust, and an open body
山秋焼, Yamaaki-yaki, is his: Tokoname body clay mixed with chamotte and sawdust and then fired, which leaves the body porous. It is described as a real innovation.
He was also not only a potter. He was known for business sense ahead of his time — he modernised the kiln and incorporated the workshop — and what began in 1920 as one man on his own is the workshop described in 2006 as the largest maker of good Tokoname pots.
04 · 型 A form name
A person's name, and what it is not
愛閒老人型. The middle character is the old form of 閑, and the name comes from a person's art name.
It is not 愛玩, aigan, “beloved plaything”, which is what a modern reader tends to hear. A form named after a person, not after an attitude to the pot.
05 · 落款 The mark
Three marks documented here; one is identified as his own
This table is a calendar more than an index. Read it that way.
The first row is his and has no documented impression. The other two are the second generation's, and they place a handmade pot before or after 1995.
| Mark | Reading | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 金華造印 | Wording only — no impression documented | Pre-war, and his. Grouped with the 愛閒老人型 forms as the work that can be taken for Chinese ware once it has age. |
| 小松泉作 / 小松泉造 | Ko-Shōsen — nail-carved and stamped | The second generation’s mark on handmade pots made before 1995. |
| 松泉焼 / 松泉焼山秋造 | Shōsen — nail-carved and stamped | The second generation’s mark on handmade pots after he succeeded to the name. |
What is missing
No impression of his own mark is documented here. If a listing shows you one and calls it his, ask where it came from.
06 · 代表作 Recorded works
Recorded works
Not for sale. Of the four pots currently known for this workshop, one is his own work. In 2006 it was put at about forty years old — a copy of an old Chinese import in soft white clay with fine age on it — and the assessment is that it is fair to call it his best work. He was known for large pieces, which is what makes a handmade pot at twelve centimetres scarce.
| Work | Size (cm) |
|---|---|
| Hakudei rectangle, outer rim, waist band, decorated feet | 12.1 × 9.2 × 4 |
Available
Yamaaki pots in the collection
Yamaaki is the name to search under — the workshop he built. Each pot ships worldwide from Tokyo.
Send us a photograph of the underside and we will tell you what the mark says — and with this workshop some of the marks also tell you which line the pot came from, and which generation made it.