Yellow-gray glazed water jar by Okada Yu

Width: 16.8cm Height: 16.3cm

Yellow-gray glazed water jar (Kibaiyu Mizusashi) by Okada Masaru - This water jar is filled with the scent of harvested rice and reflects the pale evening light on its surface.

Ⅰ What is Mizujar? A key tool that brings moisture to the tea ceremony

The water pitcher (mizusashi) is a vessel used to store water for adding water to the tea kettle during the tea ceremony and for purifying the tea bowls and chasen. After the Momoyama period, when wabicha tea was established, it became an important tool that makes up the scenery of the tea ceremony, along with the tea bowls and kettles.

Shape and placement : The basic shape is cylindrical, but there are also square, drum, and gourd shapes. During a tea ceremony, the placement changes depending on the season and the tea ceremony, such as placing it next to the guest during the furo period, and in the center of the tea ceremony tatami mat or on a shelf during the ro period.

Type of lid : There are two types of lids: **tomobuta**, which are made from the same material as the pottery, and **nuributa**, which are lacquered wooden lids. This piece is a tomobuta with the same glaze.

Kaigu : This refers to a display style in which a water jar, ladle stand, water pitcher, and lid rest are arranged as a set, and the water jar is the central piece of the setting, expressing a sense of the season and elegance.

II. Landscapes of Yellow-Gray Glaze: A Homage to Ash-Glazed Pottery of the Heian Period

Yellow ash glaze is a type of ash glaze that uses wood ash as a flux, and is characterized by a gentle yellow-brown color due to oxidation firing, with patches of patina and black from the straw ash seeping out in places.

Ash -glazed pottery originated in the Sanage kilns of the Heian period and spread throughout the country. At the time, it was also called "shirashi" (white porcelain) and was prized as a luxury item to be given to aristocrats and temples, but as time passed, it became popular among the common people and is considered the "beginning of glazing" in the history of Japanese ceramics.

The connection to Kiseto : Kiseto ware, which flourished in Owari Seto from the end of the Muromachi period to the Momoyama period, is also based on the technique of ash glaze. The soft Uguisu-cha (Japanese bush warbler tea) color of this work combines the warm elegance of Kiseto with the simplicity of Heian ash glaze.

The charm of bokukei (ink landscape) : The black color that runs along the vertical ridges of the body is created naturally when wood ash blends with the iron in the glaze. It evokes the "scenery of falling ash" seen on Heian ash-glazed jars, and adds deep shadows to the surface of the vessel.

III. Shape and Design: A powerful standing figure reminiscent of rice bundles and bamboo joints

IV. A perfect match for the tea ceremony: A water jar that reflects the harvest season

Autumn Night Stories

Matching tea bowls : Dark colors such as Kuroraku and Setoguro

Theme : The ink painting, reminiscent of bonfires and wicks, floats faintly in the darkness, creating the lingering feeling of the harvest festival.

First tea ceremony of the spring season

Matching bowls : White glaze, celadon, or pale green Shino

Design : The yellow glaze, reminiscent of sunlight shining on the barren winter earth, symbolizes the auspicious signs of the new year.

Flowering season cutting

Matching tea caddy : Gorgeous design with urushi lacquer and cherry blossom makie

Theme : The color of the petals stands out against the soft yellow, and the ridges of the ridges suggest the vigor of the young bamboo.

Ⅴ Masaru Okada's creative philosophy: Reflecting the colors of the land in his pottery

Masaru Okada, born in Gojozaka, Kiyomizu, Kyoto, and with his kiln in Sumiyama, Uji, believes in translating the shadows of the mountainside and the colors of the countryside that he sees every day into the shape of his vessels.

Yellow-gray glaze conveys "fruitfulness" and "warmth."

The ink landscape and ridges create the "shadow of a distant mountain" and the "rhythm of the autumn wind."

The sturdy cylindrical body embodies a sense of security regarding abundant harvests.
If placed at a tea ceremony, it will gently catch the gaze of guests while also gently inviting the natural flow of time.

This yellow-gray glazed water jar combines the simplicity of old kiln ash glaze with the refinement of yellow Seto, exuding a gentle golden hue reminiscent of autumn rice fields. Stroke it with your palm and you can feel the warmth of the glaze, while the shadows of the ridges reflect the swaying mountain silhouettes in the setting sun. Please use it for many years to come as a piece that adds the quiet joy of the harvest season to the "once-in-a-lifetime" tea ceremony.