Tea Bowl Shaped Mishima by Dohachi Takahashi

Width: 12.2cm Height: 9.09cm

This piece, with its intricate white clay inlay pattern emerging from the gray-blue glaze, is a masterpiece that recreates the "Mishimade" style, which originated in the Buncheong porcelain of the Joseon Dynasty, with the refinement that is unique to Takahashi Michihachi. Below, we will introduce its appeal and the background of its design in detail from five perspectives.

The shape of the rice bag creates a sense of stability and charm

The outer shape of this piece is plump and rounded, reminiscent of a rice bale, while the base has corners on all four sides, creating a "tawara-gata" shape. The body is slightly high, providing a good grip when shaking the chasen, and the rim gently curls inward to catch the matcha foam. The base is square and provides excellent stability, while the gently rounded bottom (interior) allows the tea to naturally gather in the center, improving the ease of use during the tea ceremony.

A landscape of gray-blue tranquility and intrusion

The glaze that covers the entire piece has a grayish-blue nuance, and the soft luster of the reduction firing gives it fine crazing. With repeated use, tea stains penetrate the crazing, making the outlines of the pattern stand out even more, giving it the appeal of a "vessel that grows." The broken glaze on the rim and the iron powder visible in the thin layer around the foot also add a touch of charm to the scenery, adding warmth to the cool-colored glaze.

Mishima inlay ring flower pattern and continuous arrow feather pattern

The front of the body features a "Seven Days"-style composition with six petals arranged within a circle surrounded by arabesque patterns, with a small flower in the center. Bands of continuous arrow feathers are arranged vertically around the periphery, creating a rhythm that blends ancient and modern styles. Inlay is a genuine technique in which the base is engraved and embossed, then white clay is rubbed in and the remaining white space is scraped away to fix the pattern. The white color that sinks under the glaze gently emerges from the gray-blue glaze surface, creating a unique effect of depth depending on the angle of the light.

Inheritance of Buncheong ware lineage and the sophistication of Kyoto ware

Mishima-te originated from 15th-century Korean Buncheong porcelain, and copying became popular in Japan from the 16th century onwards. This piece is made using the Honkadori process, which involves meticulous wheel-throwing, then combining stamping and inlay , and finally applying an ash glaze and firing it in reduction. While Dohachi is renowned for his Kyoto ware overglaze, he is also well-versed in works that make use of these earthenware qualities and techniques, and while he maintains the rough texture unique to Mishima, he has finished the details with the refined precision of Kyoto ware.

History - Mishima's hobby lives on in the tea ceremony

Mishima tea bowls were beloved by tea masters who respected Song and Yi dynasty culture, and are said to have been highly prized by Takeno Jo'o and Sen no Rikyu. The rice bag shape, in particular, is considered auspicious, evoking the rice harvest, and has been chosen for the first tea ceremony of the New Year and tea ceremonies celebrating the harvest. This piece revives this traditional design with a refinement that blends in with modern tea ceremony and gallery spaces, bridging the gap between history and modernity.

The Takahashi Dohachi family has been known as a prestigious Kyoto ware colored ware family since the late Edo period. The ninth generation master graduated from Kyoto Bunkyo Junior College, majoring in fashion design, and then went on to study molding and research at the Kyoto Prefectural Ceramic Technical College, and further solidified his technical foundation at the Kyoto Industrial Research Institute.

In 1996, he began to study pottery under his father, Dohachi Yashiro, and began making pottery in earnest.

In 2012, he took on the name of the 9th Takahashi Dohachi

His style, which combines the sense of form cultivated through clothing design with the traditional techniques of Kyoto ware, breathes new life into the Dohachika style and displays a refinement that stands out in modern tea ceremony and gallery spaces.

This tea bowl, with its tranquility of the gray-blue glaze and the refined pattern of the white inlay, combines the approachability and elegance of a rice-bag-shaped bowl. When you hold it in your hand, the slight unevenness of the glaze surface and the unevenness of the inlay provide a pleasant sensation to your fingertips, and you can enjoy the view as the inlay deepens and becomes more crazy with each cup of matcha you brew. Perfect for tea ceremonies such as the "Kuchikiri" in early spring and the "Nagori" in autumn, as well as for everyday practice, the contrast between the gray-blue and white will vividly highlight the green of the matcha and tighten the atmosphere of the tea room. We hope you will treasure it for many years to come and enjoy the exquisite craftsmanship of Takahashi Michihachi and the refinement of Mishima's style.