Iga Faceted Long Dinner Plate

Glassy glaze pools across the slightly faceted surface of this rectangular dinner plate, contrasted with a milky white that spreads across one corner, the result of mixing a glaze with straw ash. Three small feet lift it slightly from the table, while the coarse texture of the Iga clay and its hefty weight lend it a distinct presence. The vidro glaze gathers in the plate’s dips and channels, creating areas of deep green. In these areas, a network of kannyu crackles emerges across the surface. Spots of rust black emerge by chance where iron exists in the clay underneath. Pebble-like traces of feldspar remain visible throughout the clay body. Under the direction of eighth-generation head Fukushima Kazuhiro, Mukai Kiln continues to explore new expressions within inherited traditions. Shaped by experiences ranging from apprenticeship under Koie Ryoji to years spent working with anagama “cave kilns” in the United States, Fukushima leads the kiln in treating tradition not as a boundary, but as a starting point.