Tenmoku glaze tea bowl by Okada Yu

Width: 13.4cm Height: 7.7cm

Tenmoku-yu tea bowl by Okada Masaru - "It's as if the wind is blowing gently inside and outside the vessel, and it's as if it's wearing gentle shadows."

The depths of Tenmoku glaze that captures the starry nightThe Tenmoku glaze that covers this piece is filled with minute crystals like silver sand in the deep lapis lazuli darkness, as if it were a snapshot of the moonlit night sky. Depending on the angle of the light, a stardust-like sparkle appears, and combined with the subdued luster, it creates a mysterious presence. The reddish purple "fire mark" that appears on the rim due to reduction firing adds a warm aftertaste to the quiet darkness.

After being shaped on a potter's wheel to create a gentle vessel that evokes the mountain breeze , the clay is gently pushed out with the fingertips and palms while it is still soft, using the "hand-twisting" technique. The succession of surfaces that is naturally created by the weight of the clay is reminiscent of the movement of the wind blowing across the mountain ridges of Uji and Sumiyama. When you stroke the piece with your fingers, the pads of your fingers will catch the subtle undulations, creating a comfortable weight and sense of stability in your palm.

The glaze surface is dotted with silver-like, sparkling iron crystals that twinkle whenever the dim light of the tea ceremony hits it. When you pour thick tea, the stars are reflected among the bubbles, and when you pour thin tea, the green tea surface blends together like the Milky Way in the night sky. With repeated use, the tea will soak into the cracks, and the sparkle of the crystals will become deeper, becoming more enjoyable as it ages.

The clay of Kiyomizu and the flames of SumiyamaThe base is mainly made of fine clay from Gojozaka, Kiyomizu, Kyoto, but by mixing in some coarse clay from Sumiyama, iron spots appear from under the glaze. This gives the jet black glaze a subtle earthy taste, creating visual depth. The flames of the wood-fired kiln pumped up from Sumiyama envelop the clay and glaze, bringing out the color of the iron in an exquisite way.

Connecting stillness and movement, as the shader is turned, the shadows cast by each surface on the outside are powerfully reflected like the ridges of the mountains, while on the inside the soft curves reflect the gentle flow of the breeze. The shimmering light in the quiet black and the crimson of the rim embody the contradiction between "stillness" and "movement" in the tea ceremony, all in one vessel.

The rim is slightly curved, gently enveloping the mouth. The width is just right, allowing the movement of the chasen tea whisk to be carried freely and for the tea to be foamed evenly. The base is low and stable, but is also well-balanced so that it can be easily turned in the hand, making it suitable for a wide range of uses, from everyday use to formal thick tea ceremonies.

Innovation that embraces tradition Based on Tenmoku glaze, which has its origins in the Jianzhan of the Song Dynasty, Okada Masaru combines the gentle beauty of form he cultivated in Gojozaka, Kiyomizu, with the fresh sensibility brought about by the nature of the coal mines. The stars drawn by the iron, the red-purple outlines carved by the flames, and the rhythm of the wind created by the hand-twisting - the depth of tradition and the modern poetic sentiment resonate together, elevating the tea bowl from a mere vessel to a work of art that tells a quiet story.

With its Tenmoku glaze that seems to evoke the depths of a moonlit night and its soft curves reminiscent of a mountain breeze, this tea bowl adds elegance and mystery to the once-in-a-lifetime experience of tea ceremony, becoming a companion whose shadows deepen the more it is used.

A conversation with Masaru Okada – High-end pottery specialty store [Amagi-do]