Tsukamoto Mashiko ware tokkuri made for Takahashi of San Francisco

This sake flask is 4.5" high and about 3" in diameter. It was made by well known kiln Tsukamoto which was closely associated with Hamada Shoji one of the early proponents of the mingei (folk craft) movement of Japan. It has a label on the bottom which shows that it was made for San Francisco importer Takahashi which closed in the late 1990s so it is that old, at least.

I already have one of these flasks but jumped on the opportunity to get another one for four reasons: 1) it was cheap ($8), 2) the glaze is slightly different on this one, more variation in it, 3) any older Mashiko ware is stupid expensive and difficult to identify since it is typically not marked, and 4) the seller actually used one of my images from CW in their auction. The label on this flask has been migrated to the bottom of the piece when it was originally located on the side towards the bottom as on my first flask. That is the image the seller appropriated for their auction.

There is not a lot of Mashiko ware on CW so searching for it will easily show my first flask, if interested. I love these pieces from Takahashi as they are mingei ware but labelled! This is only my third confirmed piece of Mashiko mingei ware.

As far as I can tell Mashiko pottery is over hyped due to its association with famous potter Shoji Hamada. There are many kilns and potters in Mashiko and while it is generally well made pottery, it is not notably superior to the pottery of other regions in Japan, in my opinion. The fact that much of it is not marked complicates identifying it. There are also many potters who seek to capitalize on Hamada's reputation by signing their work stressing a connection to Mashiko, which is directly opposed Hamada's philosophy of Mingei.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mingei