A dedicated student of Chinese Longquan wares and Southern Song celadon, the contemporary potter Suzuki Sansei (b. 1936) honed his mastery of celadon glazes, skillfully exploring its full glazing potential. Suzuki Sansei is among a select group of contemporary Japanese ceramicists, alongside celebrated potters like Nakashima Hiroshi and Kawase Shinobu, who have studied and revived the complex techniques of Southern Song Guan ware. Suzuki trained under the celebrated Kawamura Seizan 河村 蜻山 (b. 1890) at his Kamakura Kiln, before going on to build his own kiln in Kanagawa prefecture.

This jar, with its softly rounded silhouette, recalls the celebrated Korean moon jars (dalhangari), whose near-spherical forms were so named for their resemblance to the full moon. The vessel’s harmonious proportions and luminous celadon glaze demonstrate Suzuki’s deep engagement with East Asian ceramic traditions while reflecting his own refined artistic sensibility.

Song dynasty potters discovered that when glaze and clay shrink at different rates during firing, the resulting tension produces fine network of crackles. In making such ceramics, Song artisans would often apply multiple layers of glaze, using a series of controlled firings (including a final high-temperature firing followed by a carefully managed cooling phase) to achieve luminous surfaces veined with a coveted superficial crackle.

In the case of Guan ware, the veined craqueleur in the glaze matrix were often accentuated by the use of dark clay bodies or the staining or painting of cracks to heighten surface contrast and visual appeal.

In 2014, the Tokyo National Museum held an exhibition titled "Guan Ware Celadon cherished by Japanese," traces the history of research and taste into Guan celadon ware by Japanese scholars and potters. Read more about the exhibition here.