Nin’Ami Dōhachi (仁阿弥道八, 1783–1855), the second-generation Takahashi Dōhachi, was one of the leading Kyoto potters of the late Edo period. He was born in Kyoto’s Awataguchi district as the second son of the first-generation Takahashi Dōhachi. His personal name was Mitsutoki. Following his father’s death in 1804, he succeeded to the family kiln.
Dōhachi learned pottery techniques primarily from his father. He also studied with the Unrin’in Hōzan pottery family and is said to have learned from Okuda Eisen, who was known for his Chinese-style ceramics. He later moved his workshop to Gojōzaka in Kyoto.
His work included tea utensils, tableware, and sculptural pieces. He also participated in domain-sponsored pottery projects known as Oniwa-yaki, including the Kairakuen Kiln in Kishu and the San Kiln in Sanuki.
Later in life, he adopted the name Nin’Ami, combining characters bestowed by imperial princes associated with Ninnaji and Daigoji. In 1842, he passed the family kiln to the third generation, retired to Fushimi-Momoyama, and established the Momoyama Kiln. He continued working until his death in 1855.
The early nineteenth century was a flourishing period for Kyoto ceramics, sometimes described as a second golden age of Kyo-yaki. Dōhachi was particularly admired for his technical skill, expressive decoration, and ability to reproduce earlier ceramic styles. His work also reflects the influence of celebrated potters such as Nonomura Ninsei and Ogata Kenzan.
Among Dōhachi’s Black Raku works are two tea bowls in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum: the Black Raku Tea Bowl with Crane Design and the Black Raku Tea Bowl with Crane and Tortoise Design. Both feature a crane on the exterior, while the latter also has a tortoise painted inside. Cranes and tortoises have long been symbols of longevity in Japan.
The tea bowl in the photograph is a cylindrical Black Raku tea bowl (tsutsu chawan) made by third-generation Sasaki Shoraku, born in Kyoto in 1944. Its Tomobako (original signed paulownia box) bears the inscription “道八写 鶴画” (Dōhachi Reproduction: Crane Design) and identifies the bowl as a tsutsu chawan.
Because the bowl features a crane on the exterior but no tortoise inside, its decoration corresponds more closely to Dōhachi’s crane-design tea bowl than to his crane-and-tortoise version. Although the box inscription does not identify a particular original work as its direct model, it clearly identifies the bowl as a Dōhachi reproduction with a crane design.
The photographed bowl is a work by Sasaki Shoraku, not an original by Nin’Ami Dōhachi.
