Hanshi Kase Amigasa-gata Chawan

Born from a collaboration between Tezumi and Asahiyaki, this unique and elegant amigasa-gata chawan (matcha bowl) is thrown from their signature hanshi (燔師) clay, dug from Shirakawa and Oriiyama in and around Uji. The wheel-thrown bowl is then subtly distorted by hand, flattening the face and creating its signature shape. 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 Asahiyaki’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. We asked the Matsubayashi brothers at Asahiyaki to create a distorted, amigasa-gata chawan to harken back to their roots while still retaining their signature refined aesthetic and of course they succeeded marvelously. Among Asahiyaki’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 naturalistic colours, gohon spotting, amigasa (編笠 - rain hat) shape, the point at the centre of the foot(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 Asahiyaki style, the wild naturality and unpredictability of these Korean inspirations are tamed, restrained, and refined by a sense of balance and elegance, resulting in a timeless expression of kirei-sabi (綺麗さび). The amigasa distortion is subtle compared to the Korean originals, and yet still succeeds in adding motion and dynamism while remaining dignified and balanced. 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 Asahiyaki studio and wood-fired in their climbing kiln before being packed in a kiribako (wooden paulownia box) and signed by the artists.