Sake cup with overglaze enamel by Takahashi Michihachi

Width: 6.0cm Height: 4.1cm

Sake cup with overglaze enamel - Takahashi Michihachi IX

This work, featuring delicate red-glazed patterns on a natural-colored background, is an "Iroe Yoraku" sake cup by Takahashi Michihachi IX. While inheriting the tradition of Kyoto-yaki iroe, it reconstructs the essence of decorative beauty with a modern sensibility, and combines splendor and serenity in the palm of your hand. Below, we will introduce its appeal in detail from five perspectives.

1. Beauty of form - soft roundness and stability

The shape is a slightly shallow bowl, with the rim slightly flaring outwards, making it easy to hold and smooth to drink from. The base is set slightly high, stabilizing the overall center of gravity while maintaining a light impression. Although it is a small piece that fits in the palm of your hand, the softness created by the well-balanced curves is the true essence of the beauty of the Dohachike style of design.

2. Glaze tone - the warmth of the natural color and the transparency of the overglaze

The base is a slightly yellowish off-white, and the minute irregularities of the clay surface visible beneath the glaze create a warm texture. The overglaze paint applied on top is a translucent color, with a red base interwoven with lapis lazuli, light blue, and gold. The glaze has a modest sheen, softly catching the light and emanating a gentle aura.

3. Design - The elegance and majesty of the Yoraku design

"Yoraku" is a stylized design of the jewels that adorn Buddhist statues. It is a prestigious design that is often seen in temple architecture and Buddhist altar implements. In this work, the Yoraku pattern is encircled around the body of the sake cup with extremely delicate brushstrokes, and a chain of dotted lines rhythmically surrounds the vessel. Small diamond-shaped and teardrop-shaped ornaments placed among the red pattern are inlaid with blue and gold, softly blending religious solemnity into everyday life.

4. Technique - Precision of overglaze painting and sharp brush strokes

The greatest feature of this piece is the intricacy of the painting. First, after the base is shaped and fired, the overglaze paint is applied at a low temperature. This requires a high level of concentration to apply evenly spaced red dots just a few millimeters in size and to paint continuously without stopping the brush. In the areas where gold paint is layered over the red paint, the difference in firing temperature creates a slight luster, adding depth to the overall pattern. This technique is truly better described as "weaving" rather than "painting."

5. Historical and Cultural Background - The Elegance of Yorakumon and Kyoto Ware

The yoraku pattern has been passed down through Buddhist art since the Nara period, and was eventually incorporated into tea ware, blue and white porcelain, and overglaze ware. In Kyoto ware, Ninsei and Kenzan frequently used it as a decoration representing "tranquility amidst gaiety" in the late Edo period. Takahashi Dohachi IX has reinterpreted this traditional design with modern sensibility and color theory, elevating religious solemnity into a light and airy rhythm. The fusion of prayer and beauty is alive within the microcosm of a sake cup.

The ninth generation Takahashi Michihachi studied fashion design before moving on to ceramics, studying under the eighth generation in 1996. He succeeded to the name of the ninth generation in 2012. While inheriting the traditional Kyoto ware color painting techniques, he has consistently maintained an attitude of seeking the balance between decorativeness and form.

This work, "Colored Yoraku Sake Cup," is a masterpiece that embodies the feeling of infinity in just a few brushstrokes.
As you take a sip from the sake cup, the succession of patterns resonates like a chain of prayer, creating a sense of calming beauty. While it is an everyday sake cup, it is truly a work worthy of being called a "vessel of prayer."