[Work title]
Genyo
[Description of the work]
This incense burner is crafted from black persimmon wood, known as a rare and precious wood. Black persimmon wood is a type of wood that exhibits black stripes, appearing only in a very limited number of persimmon trees. Due to its rarity, it has been highly valued as a precious wood since ancient times. In traditional Japanese crafts, it is used for tea ceremony utensils, joinery, and decorative pillars, and is highly regarded as a material possessing quiet elegance and dignity.
The black persimmon wood used in this piece exhibits a beautiful landscape where deep black flows and golden-brown undertones intertwine in a complex pattern. The powerfully flowing black stripes traverse the entire vessel like suminagashi (marbling) on the earth, and the warm golden-brown wood grain that emerges from between them creates a sense of depth. The contrast between black and gold subtly changes depending on how the light hits it, allowing you to enjoy a different view from each angle.
The incense burner has a gently rounded, stable shape, and meticulous care has been taken in selecting the wood to best showcase the rich grain of the black persimmon. A metal liner is installed inside the vessel to ensure practicality, and the structure is designed to be safe to use when burning incense.
The title of the work, "Gen'yō," is a combination of "Gen," meaning deep, quiet black, and "Yō," representing a faint light shining from within. It expresses the beauty of the wood grain, which resembles the deep black unique to black persimmon wood and the warm light that seems to emerge from it.
This incense burner showcases the unique grain patterns created by nature and reflects the deep, rich character of the wood itself. We hope you will enjoy the beautiful scenery depicted by this exquisite wood for many years to come as you quietly burn incense.
