This elegant ido-gata chawan (matcha bowl) is thrown from Asahi-yaki’s signature hanshi (燔師) clay, dug from Shirakawa and Oriiyama in and around Uji. Coated in a simple transparent glaze, the warm tones, hue gradients, and spots all come from the clay itself as it is rapidly heated to around 1400°C in Asahi-yaki’s wood-fired climbing kiln. The small white spots form as tiny bubbles from within the clay rise to the surface. In many ceramic traditions, this pattern of spots is called gohon/gohonte in reference to the early Korean gohon chawan that first featured them. However, in Uji, this pattern is often called kase (鹿背 - deer back) as the spots are reminiscent of the back of a young deer. 

Among Asahi-yaki’s earliest works in the 17th century were reproductions of the various gohon chawan originally produced in Korea. This bowl continues that tradition, drawing inspiration from Korean chawan in its gohonte colours and ido chawan like shape, with a tall bamboo-node foot (竹の節高台 - takenofushi kōdai) complete with a point at the centre (兜巾 - tokin), and a subtle spiralled shape with gentle rokurome (ろくろ目 - potters' wheel marks) which shows the flow of the potter's fingers as they shaped the piece on the wheel. In true Asahi-yaki style, the wild naturality and rusticity of these Korean inspirations are tamed, restrained, and refined by a sense of balance and elegance, resulting in timeless expression of kirei-sabi.

Before using it for the first time, it is recommended to soak the piece in water for 10 minutes. This will dislodge any dust from the clay as well as slow down the natural development of patina in the glaze.

This piece was made by the skilled craftsmen at the Asahi-yaki studio and wood-fired in their climbing kiln before being packed in a kiribako (wooden paulownia box) and signed by the artists.

Asahi-yaki (朝日焼) are a world-renowned pottery studio located at the foot of Mt. Asahi in Uji. Their founder produced wares for the tea ceremony in the late 16th-early 17th centuries, at the height of chanoyu’s artistic development, and his works were loved by chajin Kobori Enshū (who succeeded Furuta Oribe and Sen-no-Rikyū as leading tea master). Since then, Asahi-yaki have continued to make wares that capture Enshū’s aesthetic philosophy of ‘Kirei-Sabi’, which is a more refined take on Rikyū’s ‘Wabi(-sabi)’.

Today, they are headed by 16th generation potter Matsubayashi Hōsai XVI who leads his studio in producing wares for both the Japanese tea ceremony and for the brewing of loose-leaf teas. They continue to use local Uji clay, mined from the surrounding hills, which they call ‘hanshi’. Since the 8th generation head, they also make sencha and gyokuro wares out of porcelain from Kyūshu.

Dimensions:

12.5cm (4.9in) - width
7.5cm (3in) - height

Condition: New

This Japanese item ships from the United States.