Going into Kyusu pots 2
Jan. 15th, 2023 15:13And soon enough after last teapot, I've received one ordered from Japanese art-studio.
This is a Tokoname-yaki mogake kyusu, which means: Tokoname-yaki - something made in the area of a Tokoname city, Aichi prefecture, Japan; known as one of a six distinguished kilns, which in other words say that people has been making and firing pottery items there at least since medieval times; thus keeping related traditions in craft
kyusu - clay teapot with a side handle, one of the four main shapes of a Japanese teapots
mogake - [seaweed wrapping]; clayware production technique that includes 3-stage firing: initial to fix the shape, second with a seaweed tied to a piece to produce unique pattern of a burnt lines, third "reduction"-style to transform colours to a final tones
Teapot is mastered by Kato Tadaomi.
It's a relatively small teapot, 180 ml to the brim, so it serves for a single- or two-person sessions mostly. Additionally, from functional point of view, it has a clay "ball"-shape filter at the spout base, making it clay-only teapot without any metallic meshes that are usually used in a cheaper pieces (cause it takes way more talent and craftsmanship to go for a clay one). Also teapot is thicker in some areas than I used to from my experience with the kyusus I own, which again holds an artistic and a functional sides of a teaware piece.
Teapot, its wooden box, inside and outside packaging shows overall care about customer and real feeling of being proud for your work, which you could not just buy. To observe that makes you to want to go for such service once more.