We found this set of five 染付茄子皿 — sometsuke nasu sara in Kyoto in the summer of 2024, at 古美術やかた.

I noticed the aubergines first.

They are rendered in a soft blue against the white porcelain, with slightly blurred edges that make the motif feel almost abstract. The rectangular shape is simple but not severe, and there is just enough movement in the rim to stop the dishes from feeling too formal.

The set came in its original wooden box, together with a biography leaflet for the maker, 井上佳久 · Inoue Yoshihisa.

At the time, I did not know very much about him.

That is often how I collect. I am usually attracted to the object before I know the name behind it. The research comes afterwards.

Yoshihisa was a Kyoto ceramic artist associated with the 京焼・清水焼 — Kyō-yaki / Kiyomizu-yaki tradition. His career developed through the second half of the twentieth century, and the biography that came with the set records his involvement with Nitten and other Japanese craft organisations.

But what continues to interest me most is much simpler.

The nasu motif feels familiar and domestic. It is something from the kitchen, something that belongs naturally to the table, but reduced here to a few quiet blue forms it becomes almost graphic.

At around 13 × 10 cm, the dishes are also a natural size to use as mukōzuke in a kaiseki-style setting.

That is probably how I see them now — not as five objects to display, but as five places at the table.

I like objects most when they can become part of a meal, a season, or a particular table setting. These feel especially right in summer and early autumn, when aubergine itself belongs naturally to the season.

And that is usually when I know something has really become part of the collection.

井上佳久 · Inoue Yoshihisa
京焼・清水焼 · Kyō-yaki / Kiyomizu-yaki
染付茄子皿 · Sometsuke Nasu Sara

Set of five small porcelain dishes with blue underglaze decoration
Approx. 13 × 10 cm each

Kyoto, Japan

With original wooden box and maker biography leaflet
Estimated date: Late 20th century
Acquired in Kyoto, Summer 2024
古美術やかた

Reference
京焼 · Kyō-yaki — Kyoto ware
清水焼 · Kiyomizu-yaki — Kiyomizu ware
染付 · Sometsuke — cobalt-blue underglaze decoration
茄子 · Nasu — aubergine
皿 · Sara — dish / plate
向付 · Mukōzuke — an individual vessel traditionally placed beyond the rice and soup bowls in kaiseki, often used for sashimi or another seasonal course