Japanese Teacup - 加藤裕重 Katō Hiroshige - Akazu-yaki Ao-Oribe Yunomi - 100ml

This Akazu-yaki Ao-Oribe yunomi (teacup) has a wide, open shape that is distorted by three chamfered faces that spiral up the cup. Each of these faces is painted with a different abstract, geometric design. The rest of the cup features a vibrant and complex green Oribe glaze. The unique chamfers, organically uneven shape, and abstract designs make this cup a great expression of Furuta Oribe’s aesthetic philosophy of hyouge (へうげ) which roughly translates to ‘playful’, ‘charming’, ‘jocular’, ‘warped’ etc.

Each cup was hand-thrown and chamfered on the wheel before being hand-painted with the iron oxide underglaze design (鉄絵 - tetsu-e). The cup is then glazed in the traditional copper-rich Oribe glaze.

Unlike mass-produced Oribe wares which use a chemical imitation glaze, Katō-san uses the traditional recipe, fired in a combination of oxidation and reduction (rather than just oxidation). The result is a deep, complex green, with a unique sheen that can sometimes appear blue. Another side effect of this traditional method is the dull oxide film which forms on the surface of the glaze. This must be removed to allow the colour to shine through. To do this, each cup is soaked for two days in a solution called tochishibu (栃渋) which is made from horse chestnut caps. In addition to removing the oxide film from the green Oribe glaze, the tochishibu also darkens the exposed clay.
Each cup is handmade, glazed, and painted by Katō Hiroshige, using natural materials from the area surrounding his workshop.

Please note that due to the organic nature of hand-throwing, glazing, and painting, there are variations between pieces, with each cup being unique in shape and design. Five pieces are pictured above to display these natural variations.

Oribe (織部) is a style of Japanese pottery known for its free-flowing glazes and asymmetrical, hand-formed shapes. Dating from the late 16th century, Oribe ware takes its name from legendary tea master Furuta Oribe (古田 織部) who is believed to have played a large part in its development. Oribe wares are decorated with abstract designs and splashes of free-flowing vibrant green or deep black glaze. With these distorted shapes and novel decorations, Oribe-yaki exudes a charm that matches Furuta Oribe’s philosophy of hyouge (へうげ) or playfulness. One of the most popular styles of Oribe ware is Ao-Oribe (青織部) or Green Oribe, which is decorated with geometric patterns painted with an iron glaze and then partially covered in a vibrant green copper-sulfate glaze which contrasts against the light background. The other main style is Kuro-Oribe (黒織部 - Black Oribe) which came first and was the more common style for chawan.

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 Ofukei. In addition, Katō -san loves developing new styles and pursuing his own unique artistic expression.

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.

Dimensions:

9cm (3.5in) - width
6.5cm (2.6in) - height
100ml - capacity

Condition: New

This Japanese item ships from the United States.