Tenmoku glaze tea bowl by Okada Yu

Width: 13.3cm Height: 8.0cm

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

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Deep lapis lazuli Tenmoku glaze with starry skies

The Tenmoku glaze that covers this piece is a jet-black lapis lazuli base, with tiny crystals like silver sand scattered throughout. Whenever it is hit by a soft light, it sparkles like twinkling stars in the night sky, evoking a sense of both tranquility and depth.

The purple-red “fire mark” running along the rim

The reddish purple of the rim, created by reduction firing, has a warmth reminiscent of twilight shining into darkness. The subdued saturation of the purple lends a soft accent to the black glaze, creating a subtle aftertaste under the light of the tea ceremony.

A gentle bowl shape that embraces the wind

The body of the piece juts out slightly before gradually converging, gently resting on a high base for a balanced look. The slight bulge caused by the natural weight of the piece after being shaped on the potter's wheel imprints a swaying quality on the surface that is reminiscent of the mountain breezes of Sumiyama, Uji.

Cloud bands drawn by reduction flames

A band of glaze pools runs down the center of the glaze surface, with light and dark shades overlapping like a sea of clouds. When the light traces the band, the boundaries between the light and dark shades gradually blend together, reminiscent of layers of clouds floating in the sky before dawn.

Functional beauty in the palm of your hand

The rim is thin and smooth to the touch. The opening is just right, allowing the movement of the chasen to be easily controlled and the foam to be created evenly. The low base ensures stability, but the center of gravity is designed so that it can be easily turned with a snap of the wrist.

A crystallization of tradition and poetry

The Tenmoku glaze, which has its roots in the Song Dynasty Jianzhan, is fused with the sense of form honed at Gojozaka in Kiyomizu. The stars drawn by the iron, the purple crimson engraved by the flame, the rhythm of the wind created by the hand-twisting - the philosophy pursued by Masaru Okada of "transforming familiar scenery into vessels" gives this tea bowl a quiet poetic feeling.

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This Tenmoku-glazed tea bowl embraces the darkness of a moonlit night and the sparkle of stardust - with each slow turn in the palm of your hand, the shadows change, bringing a mysterious tale to your tea ceremony.