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Tamba-yaki is a style of high-fired,
unglazed pottery originating more than 800 years ago in a remote and
mountainous region west of Kyoto in Hyogo prefecture. During the
Edo era (1600-1868), Tamba tea bowls were used extensively by
tea ceremony practitioners who appreciated their simple, austere
beauty. Because Tamba-yaki is unadorned and free of decorative
elements, its beauty derives solely from the character of the clay, also
known as its "flavor", and how kiln dynamics are rendered upon it.
This yoko-te (lit. "side-handled") green tea pot by Nagai Ken is wood fired in the Tamba-yaki tradition. Meticulously handcrafted in minute detail
(the knob on the lid swivels), it is a testament to Mr. Nagai's
exceptional forming skill. The intense heat inside the
noborigama climbing kiln where it is fired produces warm
gradations of rust red to dark brown and small pebbles where feldspar
crystals have burst through. Swirling embers of red pine fuse
with the surface of the clay and produce a natural glaze which is
rough yet pleasing to the touch. A
wonderful display of the kind of dynamic kiln effects that only wood-fired
pottery can exhibit.
The pot is accompanied by two
matching cups fired in the same technique. The interior has a
built-in sieve porous enough to allow small bits of green tea leaf to
flow through - a timeless custom among tea drinkers in Japan.
Its total capacity is 500 ml (17 oz), which is enough to make four
full cups
of tea. Gyokuro is highly recommended.
Functional as well as beautiful, this set promises many memorable tea
moments over the years.
See Nagai Ken's Osaka Exhibition
for more works from his 2010 collection.
special care instructions
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