KENZAN WARE, EDO PERIOD (18TH CENTURY), SIGNED FUYO KENZAN (OGATA KENZAN; 1663-1743)

In 1712, Kenzan closed his kiln in the secluded outskirts of Kyoto--his earlier client base may have dried up--and moved to the thriving, downtown commercial area west of Teramachi on Nijo Street, the major business thoroughfare. Here, in the center of the city, he was supported by newly wealthy townsmen. In 1711, his brother, Korin, the painter, moved to a location a few blocks away. The two brothers--both celebrity artists--collaborated on ceramics. In this convenient downtown area, known as Nijo-Chojiyamachi, Kenzan maintained a highly successful ceramics business using rented kiln spaces. Contemporary sources list Kenzan wares among the prominent Kyoto products of the second decade of the eighteenth century.
There is one similar example with a design of mountain landscape and unglazed foot rim, see Arakawa Masaaki, eds., Art of Kenzan and His Brother Korin, pl. 47.