19.5x16x6 Inch Gyouzan Rectangle Bonsai Pot #295 – Flat Rim, Unglazed, Nail Signed

A large unglazed rectangle from the Gyouzan kiln, signed by Nakano Yokizou, the first generation of the name. The surface is left smooth rather than textured, which on a pot this size is the harder choice. There is nowhere for a tool mark to hide, and the eye reads the whole length of the wall at once. The rim is flat and unbroken, finishing the form without decorating it.

It is nail signed and carries no chop. The signature is incised into the clay by hand with a pointed tool before firing, so it varies from pot to pot in a way a pressed seal never does. On a first-generation piece that mark is the provenance.

At 19.5 by 16 inches and 6 inches deep this is a large pot with serious root volume. Six inches is considerably more depth than a shallow oval offers, which suits a conifer or any tree carrying real mass above the soil. The unglazed clay will darken with watering and sit back behind the tree rather than compete with it, and a rectangle reads formally, so it pairs naturally with a strong upright trunk.