Sugimoto Sadamitsu (*1935)

Sugimoto was born 1935 in Tōkyō and is a self-taught, highly admired master of Iga and Shigaraki pottery. He built his own anagama kiln in Shigaraki in 1968. Along his research and study of old Shigaraki and Iga ware, he became interested in Zen Buddhism and has been a disciple of Tachibana Daiki (1899-2005, 511th Daitoku-ji head monk and president of Hanazono University) since 1974.

Over the years, his rigorous training in Zen infused his pottery works with the power of a liberal and unsophisticated spirit, making him one of the best Iga potters of our time. Focusing mainly on traditional tea ware, Sugimoto's works were shown, for instance, on an exhibition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of tea master Sen no Rikyū in 1989. It is noteworthy that some of his works were also selected in the same year for a movie about Sen no Rikyū by Teshigahara Hiroshi, through which he additionally gained large recognition. His work is widely held in international public and private museums.

The plate is signed by the artist on the base and comes with the original wooden box, additionally inscribed by Tachibana Daiki who named it "Flavor of Tea" (chami). Here, the word 'tea' could directly lead to the impression that the green glaze pooling in the middle of the plate is green tea. However, the term has several other connotations as well. In modern Japanese, the expression is used to describe elegant things. But written by the Zen master Daiki, the name could also be understood as a quotation, referring to an old Zen Buddhist saying that "Tea and Zen are one" (chazen ichimi, lit.: "Tea and Zen are of the same flavor").

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