Rust Painted Hexagonal Plate with a Design of Pine and

Hexagonal Plate with Pines and Cranes in Iron Underglaze: A Rinpa Masterpiece Born of Two Brothers' Hands

Among the countless ceramics produced during Japan's Edo period, few objects bring together artistry, documented history, and familial collaboration quite like the Hexagonal Plate with Pines and Cranes in Iron Underglaze (Sabie Matsutsuru-zu Rokkaku-zara). Fashioned by the celebrated potter Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743) and painted by his elder brother, the great Rinpa master Ogata Korin (1658–1716), this single dish condenses an entire cultural movement into a surface barely twenty-eight centimeters across. Now preserved in a private collection in Aichi Prefecture, the plate was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on June 8, 2007, in recognition of its singular place in the history of Japanese ceramic art.

The Ogata Brothers and the World of Rinpa

The Ogata family ran Kariganeya, a prestigious kimono merchant in Kyoto that counted aristocrats and the Tokugawa shogun's household among its clients. Into this milieu of wealth and refined taste were born two brothers whose names would become inseparable from the legacy of Rinpa, the decorative school of Japanese painting and design that drew inspiration from earlier masters such as Hon'ami Koetsu and Tawaraya Sotatsu.

Korin, the elder brother, reshaped Japanese painting with his boldly patterned compositions. His "Irises" screens (Nezu Museum, National Treasure) and "Red and White Plum Blossoms" screens (MOA Museum of Art, National Treasure) remain defining images of the era. Kenzan, the younger, chose clay over silk. After studying under the potter Nonomura Ninsei, he opened a kiln at Narutaki near the Ninna-ji temple in northwestern Kyoto in 1699, and later moved to Nijo Chojiya-machi in central Kyoto. His wares — sometimes bold, sometimes literary, always distinctive — earned admirers ranging from daimyo to common townspeople.

The two brothers worked together on a series of ceramic collaborations in which Kenzan shaped and prepared the vessel while Korin painted its surface. The Hexagonal Plate with Pines and Cranes is a pinnacle of this shared artistry.

Why This Plate Was Designated an Important Cultural Property

While a number of Korin–Kenzan collaborative ceramics survive in major museum collections, this particular plate occupies a uniquely important position. On its outer base, Kenzan inscribed the date "Hoei kōin no toshi, Kenzan sei" — "Made by Kenzan in the year Hoei kōin (1710)." It is the only known joint ceramic work by the brothers that bears a clearly documented year of production. Every other Korin–Kenzan collaboration must be dated by stylistic comparison with this plate, making it a cornerstone reference piece in the study of Rinpa ceramics.

The hexagonal form itself is extraordinarily rare. Most Korin–Kenzan dishes are square "shikishi-zara" (poem-card plates), and no other hexagonal plate of this type is known in their collaborative output. The combination of a one-of-a-kind shape, a dated inscription, the signed brushwork of Korin, and Kenzan's own poetic calligraphy earned the plate its 2007 designation as an Important Cultural Property.

Looking Closely: Design and Technique

The plate measures approximately 2.9 centimeters high with a mouth of 23.8 by 27.5 centimeters, built up from joined slabs of soft, pale-yellow clay. Seams from the assembly process are faintly visible along the inside corners — small traces of the potter's hand that make the object feel all the more personal. The rim is cleanly cut and flat, a sober frame for the painting within.

After an initial firing, Kenzan coated the body with white slip, brushed on to create a smooth, paper-like ground. Korin then drew upon this surface in iron-rich manganese pigment, sometimes called "manganese gosu." Finally a clear lead glaze was applied, sealing painting and calligraphy alike in a soft, low-temperature sheen.

At the center of the dish stands a crane, its head turned back in a graceful, watchful pose. From the left, a pine branch extends up into the scene. Pine and crane — shochōraku in traditional Japanese iconography — are both emblems of longevity, and together they form one of the most auspicious motifs in East Asian art. Cloud-like lines run around the inner and outer rims, lending atmosphere without distracting from the central subject. Below the crane, Korin has signed with his characteristic "Korin sho" seal.

In the upper right, a four-line poetic inscription brushed by Kenzan himself reads, in essence: "Pure air fills the four seasons of this vast land of immortals; a single white cloud gives rise to feathered robes." The poem is signed "Kenzan Shinsei sho" ("written by Kenzan Shinsei") and sealed with his studio marks "Shoko" and Tōin. The imagery of immortals and feathered robes echoes the crane at the heart of the composition — in Chinese and Japanese legend, immortals were said to ride upon cranes through the sky.

A Dialogue of Brush and Clay

What makes this plate so moving is the sense of conversation between the two brothers. Kenzan gives Korin a smooth, white surface comparable to fine paper. Korin responds with a single, confident crane, drawn with the economy that defines Rinpa painting. Kenzan then frames Korin's work with his own verse, placing the picture within a literary world of Daoist immortals and eternal seasons. Finally, on the reverse, Kenzan dates and signs the piece — turning a decorative object into a historical document.

Visitors to any museum exhibiting Edo-period ceramics are often told that the greatest works feel "alive." Here, the pairing of the bold, sparse painting and the scholarly verse, the hexagonal geometry and the soft white ground, achieves exactly that — a quiet liveliness, as if brush and clay were still in conversation centuries after the brothers set down their tools.

Where to See Rinpa and Kenzan Ceramics

The Hexagonal Plate with Pines and Cranes belongs to a private collection in Aichi Prefecture and is not on permanent public display. From time to time it may appear in special loan exhibitions devoted to Rinpa art or to the Korin–Kenzan brothers, so visitors interested in seeing it should watch for announcements at major Japanese museums.

For travelers visiting Aichi who wish to deepen their appreciation of Edo-period arts and crafts, several outstanding institutions are highly recommended. The Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya houses the collection of the Owari Tokugawa family, including swords, tea utensils, lacquerware, and paintings that illuminate the same aristocratic world in which the Ogata brothers worked. The Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum in Seto City, located in one of Japan's great pottery heartlands, offers a sweeping overview of ceramic history in Japan and abroad and frequently features Edo-period works. Seto itself is a centuries-old pottery town and one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, well worth exploring on foot.

For those who want to encounter other authenticated Korin–Kenzan collaborations, the Tokyo National Museum, the Kyoto National Museum, the Nezu Museum in Tokyo, the Fujita Museum in Osaka, and the Okura Museum of Art in Tokyo all hold important examples. Each displays a different facet of what the brothers could achieve together.