Japanese Ceramic Vase Mingei Style Hamada Shoji

A heavily pottered stoneware vase in cylindrical form, decorated with abstract strokes in iron rust glaze (known as Persimmon Glaze in Japanese) on a black glazed background. The pattern suggests autumn grasses, and it was applied with free hands. The vase is attributed to Japanese potter Hamada Shoji (濱田 庄司, 1894 -1978), who was a leading figure of the mingei folk-art movement. He established his studio and practice in the Japanese town Mashiko to reinvent and spearhead the style that is both rustic and refined. From the renowned pottery center, he connected with international art communities by introducing the traditional Japanese pottery art to a wider world. In 1955 he was designated a "Living National Treasure", for the first time for someone from the field of crafts.
The vase is not signed, but it came with an old storage box with the hand-written label as shown. The set of the five bowls by Shimaoka Tatsuzom a student of Hamada Shoji, on a separate listing, is also from the same collection.