5 Inch Diameter Yamaaki Round Bonsai Pot #13 – Worm Eaten Texture, Unglazed, Double Chop & Nail Signed

Second-generation Yamaaki is the interesting tier. Sadamitsu Kataoka took the kiln on from his father and worked under the name Koshosen, and he is widely regarded, by collectors and by other potters, as having produced work of greater diversity and technical construction than the generation before him. First-generation pieces still command higher prices, but that is rarity doing the work rather than craftsmanship. Our record notes this one as hard to find.

The body carries mushikui, the hand-carved relief the kiln became known for. The name translates as worm-eaten and it describes exactly what it looks like: an irregular pattern worked into the clay as though something had been at it for years. The potters were not imitating damage, they were imitating age. A bonsai is meant to read as though it has survived decades, and a brand new pot with a smooth surface argues against that, while one that already looks weathered lets the tree carry the story. Underneath there is a double chop alongside a nail signature. The chop is pressed in and comes out identical across everything the kiln made; the nail signature was scratched in by hand with a pointed tool while the clay was still leather-hard, which means a particular artisan finished this pot personally.

At 5 inches across, this is a small round at shohin scale, the size that goes on a display stand rather than a bench. Unglazed is the convention for pines, junipers and trees with bark worth seeing, because the clay recedes rather than answering the foliage, and at this scale the pot sits close under the tree where a quiet surface matters more than it would on a larger piece.