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Hello
Not sure if first images attached properly.
attached again.

Many thanks
Fred

Your vase is so-called Sumida ware, made by Koko Ishiguro, considered by many to be the "Father of Sumida ware". The mark reads 香二, literally Koji, often wrongly translated as Ban-ni.

However, the 二 (which means 2) character can be considered as an iteration mark used for repeating the 香 character, so in that case it actually says: "Ko" twice, so "Koko". Another Koko mark reads as 香々, where 々 is the iteration mark. See pictures.

Date: Late Meiji (1890-1912).

Regards,
Martin.

Hello Martin & Bill ,many thanks for both of your replies,great work,thank you very very much.

This is a surprise for me ,as I had been told that it was the mark of Inoue Ryosai.

Was KOKO Ishiguro,regarded as a similar maker to Ryosai or a lesser maker?

Or were they classed as the same level?

Is one maker more highly valued than the other?
I feel the quality is very good.

looks like they both worked around the same period.

Kind Regards Guido.

This is a Japanese Sumida Gawa (Sumida River) vase from about the first quarter of the 20th century, I believe. The marking on its small white plaque consists of the character "Ko" above a character meaning "twice", which in this case signals the top character should be repeated as "Koko", for the famous potter who made the vase, Ishiguro Koko.

Here are a couple of additional photos of cups and a companion pitcher, the latter bearing the mark of the kiln's founder Inoue Ryosai, which also was used by two descendents following him in the early 20th century.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Hi Guido,
According some sources Koko Ishiguro was related to the Ryosai family, his style is also similar to the Ryosai style.
Ishiguro was exhibiting at the National Ceramics Co-Promotion Society in 1901 and at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. His "500 Rakan" vase won 1st prize in 1899 at the craft exhibition sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture held in Tokyo and is now in the Smith Museum of Art, Springfield, Massachusetts. This might give an indication about the age of your vase.
Regards,
Martin.

Hello Martin
Many thanks for the information.There seems to be little information about these potters.
It seems Koko worked with Inoue Ryosai in his early career,and the went out on his own.Thanks for the tip that they may have been related.

Koko's real name was said to be Ishiga Gozo,not sure if this is correct.

bits and pieces of the history keep coming out slowly about both potters.

As you say they both had a similar style ,not sure who started the style.

I have attached images of a friends vase by Ryosai. I feel the monkeys are a bit coarser on this vase than my vase.

The hands and fingers on my vase are very fine and delicate (I will post images later)

You are probably correct early 1900 may be when my vase was made.

Regards Fred.

Hello Martin.
Some close up images of the fingers on my Koko vase.
I will add 3 other images in next post(only 3 photo limit)

Regards Fred.

Hello Martin
3 more images ,close ups of fingers.
Regards Fred.

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