Mizusashi (Water-jar) / Ichimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection, Vol 2)

This woodblock print depicts a mizusashi, the fresh-water container used in the Japanese tea ceremony to replenish the kettle and rinse utensils. Published as part of the Ichimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection), Volume 2, the print belongs to a portfolio series in which sosaku-hanga artists contributed individual prints to a collaborative publication. These collective portfolios were important vehicles for the sosaku-hanga movement, building community among artists and distributing their work to subscribers. Kawanishi's choice of a tea ceremony vessel as his subject connects the print to Japanese material culture and the aesthetic tradition of finding beauty in functional objects. The mizusashi's simple cylindrical or rounded form provides a concentrated study in shape, glaze texture, and the interplay of light on a ceramic surface.