CLICK HERE TO ORDER Book Review from the Clay Times The Journal of Ceramic Trends & Techniques March / April 2006, Volume 12, #2 Review by Steven Branfman Read Another Review of This Book from Ceramics Today www.ceramicstoday.com/books/yellin.htm BOOK TITLE: Ode to Japanese Pottery: Sake Cups and Flasks by Robert Yellin  Book Details: Title: Ode to Japanese Pottery, Sake Cups and Flasks Author: Robert Lee Yellin Hardcover: 208 pages Dimensions: 22.7 x 18.2 x 2 cm Photos: All color photography, 62 pages Photography: Yoshihide Minato and Hiroya Yoshimori Language: English Publisher: Coherence Inc. ISBN: 4-907731-05-1 Price: $49.50  HIGHLIGHTS: Sake cups and flasks by approximately 100 modern and contemporary potters. Main text by Robert Yellin, with additional text by Wahei Aoyama entitled "A Brief History of Sake Vessels." Book includes a detailed glossary of terms, and hand-painted calligraphy and artwork by various artists. This book is the English version of Yakimono Sanka by Robert Yellin, first published in Japanese in 1995 by Kogei Shuppan. Yakimono Sanka was recommended by the Japanese Library Association for inclusion into all Japanese public libraries.  REVIEW: In the world of Japanese pottery lie the aesthetic sensibilities of traditional Japanese culture. Robert L. Yellin, ceramic art columnist for The Japan Times, delivers in this detailed volume his insights into modern and contemporary Japanese pottery, in particular ceramic sake cups and flasks.  Originally written in 1995 for a Japanese audience, Ode to Japanese Pottery is an ideal introduction to those unacquainted to Japanese pottery, and a welcome asset to the libraries of Japanese ceramic art collectors and connoisseurs. The volume exhibits various styles of Japanese pottery, namely Bizen, Shigaraki, and Shino wares. Above all, Ode to Japanese Pottery gives the reader a grasp of the unique and delicate aesthetics of Japan, an aesthetic that has long captivated artists and art lovers the world over.  To inquire about this publication, please contact: The Robert Yellin Yakimono Gallery Marusho Building, 1F, 3-2-18 Ohmiya Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture Japan 411-0035 Phone: 81 (55) 991-5388  Fax: 81 (55) 991-5387 Email: Click here to email EY-Net   A Look Inside Robert Yellin's Book  EXCERPT from "Ode to Japanese Pottery," page 40 Isezaki Yozan -- Tokkuri of Eternity Isezaki Yozan (1902 - 1961) was a Bizen potter renowned for his sculptured pieces. He was designated an Okayama Prefecture Intangible Cultural Property in 1954. I have only come across one of his pieces on all my journeys (his pieces are quite rare). However, it is this tokkuri that I feel most closely gives me a glimpse of things eternal or 'mugen' in Japanese. This tokkuri is so simple in its appearance that it is almost deceiving; yet within its form are colors and a depth that refreshes the spirit. It is a piece that takes time to appreciate, like a good piece of music or a cherished friend. It is only with frequent contact and after a period of time that we can begin to comprehend the wisdom inherent within. This piece was fired with a cup or bowl over its neck (kabuse-yaki), which gives the effect of a ring around the shoulder. Robert Yellin Email Robert Robert Yellin hosts both this eStore (www.japanesepottery.com) and its sister site on pottery knowledge (www.e-yakimono.net). Robert has been a resident of Japan since 1984. For ten years, he wrote a monthly column on Japanese ceramics in the Japan Times, the largest English newspaper in Japan. He also writes for Daruma magazine, and was a former columnist for Honoho Geijutsu, a leading quarterly devoted to contemporary Japanese ceramics. He is also the author of Yakimono Sanka published by Kogei Shuppan, a book (in Japanese) about sake utensils that was recommended by the Japanese Library Association for inclusion into all public libraries. The English version of this book will become available in late July or early August, 2004. Stories by Robert have also appeared in WINDS magazine and in Ceramics Art and Perception. Robert is a member of the Japan Ceramics Society (Nihon Toji Kyokai) and his articles have appeared in its monthly publication Tohsetsu.