This Akazu-yaki Ki-Seto chawan (matcha bowl) has a classic soft yellow glaze and is decorated with an inscribed floral motif highlighted with a splash of green copper glaze called tanpan (胆礬). These bowls were designed and produced as a collaboration between Tezumi and Katō Hiroshige of Kasen Kiln.
Following the traditional Ki-Seto technique, each bowl was hand-thrown and then the design is etched into the surface. The Ki-Seto glaze is a mix of ash and feldspar with a little bit of iron-rich clay called oni-ita which turns the glaze yellow in oxidation firing.
Specifications
Made in Japan. Ships from the United States.
Width: 12 cm (4.7 in)
Height: 7 cm (2.8 in)
Please note that due to the organic nature of hand-throwing, glazing, and painting, there are variations between pieces, with each bowl being unique in shape and design.
Akazu-yaki Ceramics
Akazu-yaki (赤津焼), from Akazu in Aichi Prefecture, is often seen as merely a subset of Seto-yaki, however Akazu is one of the oldest pottery sites in the region was also the official kiln site for the Tokugawa family in Nagoya castle, with Akazu potters also firing wares in the castle garden. Many of the styles associated with Mino-yaki were originally developed in Akazu. The turmoils of the Sengoku Era caused potters to flee the Seto region over the mountains to Mino. Today, the Akazu traditions are upheld by roughly a dozen potters.
About Ki-Seto
Ki-Seto (黄瀬戸 - Yellow Seto) is a glaze typically made from an ash base with added feldspar and iron-rich clay called oni-ita (鬼板 - demon board). When fired in oxidation, the iron gives the glaze its signature yellow colour. Originally used on tableware in the mid 1500s, it was also applied to chawan for use in the tearoom.
Ki-seto chawan generally came in two shapes: wan-nari (椀形 - wooden bowl-shape) and hantsutsu-gata (半筒型 - half cylindrical type). Decoration, if present, was simple, usually inscribed lines or flowers. The main draws were the various subtle glaze effects:
Aburaage-de (油揚手 - deep-fried tofu style): a thick, matte yellow with a slightly textured surface, similar to that of deep-fried tofu pouches
Tanpan (胆礬 - chalcanthite): splashes of green glaze, ideally naturalistic. Cheaper modern Ki-seto wares often have very artificial looking tanpan. This green comes from copper sulphate.
Koge (焦げ - scorch marks) areas where the glaze has turned brown as if scorched
Meet Katō Hiroshige (Kasen Kiln)About the Artist
Katō Hiroshige (加藤裕重) is a 14th generation potter, and the 12th head of Kitagama Kasen (喜多窯 霞仙), based in the Akazu hills in Seto. In the early Edo period, his family was one of four protected by the Tokugawa Shogunate in order to fire tea ceremony utensils for Nagoya Castle. These Oniwa-yaki (garden fired) wares for the Nagoya Tokugawa developed into a style called Ofukei (御深井). His family's kiln is the only remaining of those original four. Katō-san specializes in traditional Mino and Seto styles such as Shino and Oribe, as well as the Akazu-yaki speciality of Ofuke. In addition, Hiroshige-san loves developing new styles and pursuing his own unique artistic expression.
Katō-san specializes in traditional Mino and Seto styles such as Shino and Oribe, as well as the Akazu-yaki speciality of Ofukei. In addition, Katō-san loves developing new styles and pursuing his own unique artistic expression.
