A Banded Cup Attributed to Hamada Shōji

Cup with Iron Bands

Dark bands circle the upper half of this cup, with rows of small white marks between them on the grey glaze. Below, the surface is plain and slightly rough, narrowing to a small foot.

It is a cup of the yunomi type, labelled as the work of Hamada Shōji (濱田庄司, 1894 to 1978) and dated 1942. No museum record confirms either.

Hamada's Standing

Hamada himself is well documented. He settled in Mashiko, in Tochigi Prefecture, in 1924, and he was a central figure in the Mingei (folk craft) movement. In 1955 he was recognised as a Living National Treasure for mingei pottery (民芸陶器).

Our post on a 1941 Mashiko bowl looks at the move to Mashiko, and one on a square bottle at his red overglaze.

A cup is the piece many of us pick up most often in a day. EngiCrafts' wood-fired selection has cups for that, in one quiet glaze with slightly uneven walls.