Shigaraki ware, made by Sōtōen, Sencha tea cup, kiln-fired light purple B, 60ml

This is a sencha tea cup from the Shigaraki ware pottery studio, Sotouen, featuring a light purple glaze with a kiln-fired finish.

When brewing gyokuro or sencha, a small amount of water (only a few tens of milliliters) is used, so a small teacup is appropriate. This size is also suitable for sencha, Chinese tea, and Taiwanese tea.

Sotoen is a Shigaraki ware pottery studio that shapes each piece on a potter's wheel and fires them in a traditional climbing kiln. Inheriting the Edo-period wood-fired kiln from the prestigious Ueda Naokata family of Shigaraki ware, they continue to create pottery that allows you to feel the texture of Shigaraki clay and the rich expression achieved through wood-fired kilns.

In the current ceramics market, sencha tea sets are scarce. While searching for sencha tea sets throughout Japan, I found a tea cup made by Sotoen about 20 years ago at a pottery fair in Aichi Prefecture. I commissioned Sotoen to create a new reproduction of that tea set, and this is the finished product.

Shigaraki is a place in Shiga Prefecture surrounded by mountains and blessed with clean flowing water. It is a region deeply connected to tea. Since ancient times, many tea masters have cherished Shigaraki ware. From the 1600s onward, it became common for the Tokugawa shogunate and various daimyo families to present Uji tea in Shigaraki tea jars. Shigaraki also produces tea utensils such as matcha bowls and teapots, and is known as a region where tea ceramics thrive.

Shigaraki clay is somewhat coarse, giving it an earthy texture. Shigaraki ware, fired in the strong flames of a wood-fired kiln, often turns brown, but this tea set is a pale purple. This color is created by chance by the irregular flow of flames inside the kiln. It is a rare piece of pottery resulting from the accidental reaction between the clay and the fire.

The main fuel for the wood-fired kiln is Japanese red pine. The firing period is about one week, and the temperature rises to 1300-1500°C. The wood-fired kiln itself is made of Shigaraki clay (the second to last image of the clay). The climbing kiln at Sōtōen is one of the largest kilns in Japan.

Each tea utensil is handcrafted on a potter's wheel, so the sides of the utensils have the marks left by the wheel. The texture is pleasant, giving you a real sense of the earth. The inside is very smoothly formed. A characteristic feature is the soft, natural look of the clay. As you use it, the color deepens, and you can enjoy the changes that occur over time, which is another one of its charms.

Maker: Sotoen (Shiga)

Forming: Wheel-thrown

Firing: Wood-fired kiln

Type: Ceramics

Size: Total length approximately 6cm, base diameter approximately 3cm, height approximately 6cm

Capacity: 60ml full, 30ml usable

Weight: Approximately 50g

Packaging: Cardboard box

Note: As these are handmade, each piece is unique. The color is not uniform throughout; the areas exposed to the flame during firing are brownish. Options B, C, D, and E have brownish areas on the surface. Neither the inside nor the outside is glazed.

If you fill the teapot to its maximum capacity, the rim will become hot. We recommend using it with 50% or less of its maximum capacity.

Grill>

Shigaraki ware is one of Japan's six ancient kilns (Seto, Tokoname, Echizen, Tanba, Bizen, and Shigaraki). Because Shigaraki was once at the bottom of a lake, it is blessed with high-quality clay. The origin of Shigaraki ware dates back to the relocation of the capital to this area in 742.It is said that they produced roof tiles for buildings in the capital city. After that, there was a period when pottery production declined, but in the late 13th century, seed jars and water jars began to be made again.

In the late 15th century, Japanese pottery began to be used as tea ceremony utensils. Shigaraki ware, along with Bizen ware, is one of the earliest types of pottery used for tea ceremony utensils.From the 17th century onward, tea jars used to hold tea leaves presented to the shogunate and daimyo families were also produced in Shigaraki.

Shigaraki ware has deep ties to tea and is a type of pottery beloved by many tea masters. Located near Kyoto and Osaka, where the tea ceremony flourished, it produced a large quantity of matcha bowls, vases, and sencha tea utensils. Shigaraki is surrounded by mountains and has abundant natural beauty with flowing water. The texture of the clay from Shigaraki, which allows you to feel nature, and the rich expression achieved through firing in wood-fired kilns are what make Shigaraki ware so appealing.