Ichi Kitahara 2012 Smooth Prince w/ Bamboo Estate Briar Pipe, Japanese Estates

Description

Ichi Kitahara is a Japanese pipe-maker, but he’s also something of a renaissance man. He is classically trained in fine art; he has spent time as a high-end jeweler and silversmith; he has also worked as an Itame, the Japanese name for a particularly skilled sushi chef; and last, but not least, he is an artisan maker of high-grade pipes. This he originally learned as an apprentice of Japanese master Hiroyuki Tokutomi, before evolving into a master in his own right, with his own, distinct style.

Could we call this a “Japanese prince”? It’s certainly a very squat design, with a slight resemblance to the bowls of traditional prince, squat tomato, or diplomat shapes, but there’s something more to it, something more akin to more modern explorations of horizontal space. It’s closer to the saucer, the eskimo, or the ukulele, for example, at least to my mind, but for its length, which brings it back down to earth. One foot in the past; one in the future. Neo-traditional design from a Japanese master.

The condition is great. Some minor, inner rim darkening and some handling marks on the bamboo.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.73 / 18.54mm

Bowl Depth: 0.83″ / 21.08mm

Weight: 1.0oz / 30g