Top incense holder by Rakusai Onishi

Width: 8.0cm x 8.3cm Height: 3.2cm

Spinning top incense holder (koma-kogo) by Onishi Rakusai

--The spinning auspicious sign is sealed in a deep blue glaze--

Work summary

This incense holder in the shape of a spinning top was created by Yashiro Onishi Rakusai of Akahada ware in Nara. Spinning tops (dokuraku) have long been considered auspicious toys due to their punning words for "things going smoothly," "money coming around," and "business going well," and have been a favorite at New Year's celebrations and the first tea ceremony of the year.
Although it is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the spiral pattern floating on the glossy deep green glaze (copper green glaze) and the gold edges create a sense of dynamism, as if capturing an afterimage of rotation.

Form and design

Glaze and Technique

Deep blue copper-green glaze <br data-start="623" data-end="626">A copper glaze mainly made of feldspar is applied to the red clay body and then reduction fired at around 1240°C. The copper in the glaze changes color from deep viridian to a night-like blue, and the blackening in some areas creates a sense of depth.

Crazing reminiscent of broken Japanese peppercorns <br data-start="739" data-end="742">Fine crazes appear due to the rapid cooling after firing, and the gold color seeps into the gaps, creating lines reminiscent of the trajectory of a spinning top.

First, the disk - shaped body is stretched on a potter's wheel, and when it is half-dry, it is hand-twisted to carve the spiral pattern. The lid body is then made malleable and separated, and the mating surfaces are ground together to ensure precision that it can be opened and closed effortlessly.

Tops and incense containers in the tea ceremony

Since the Momoyama period, spinning top incense containers have been highly valued as a representative design of Tang lacquerware, and have become a typical example of a "shaped incense container" along with lacquerware such as lacquerware with red, yellow, and green concentric circles. In particular, the "spinning top" design, which is lacquered in vermilion, yellow, and green, is a prestigious design that was also used in Shoin decorations. This piece reinterprets this concept in a ceramic body, bringing together the warm and elegant earthiness characteristic of Akahada ware with a modern deep green glaze.

Season and combination

Onishi Rakusai's approach to pottery making

Based on the philosophy of "transforming the history and elegance of Nara into modern tea ceremony pottery," Onishi Rakusai has been enthusiastically developing works that feature symbols of Yamato such as deer, temple bells, and ruffled ornaments, as well as auspicious toys such as spinning tops. In this piece, he actively utilizes the kiln changes that are accidentally produced by the flames and copper glaze as an "afterimage of rotation," enhancing the level of perfection of this palm-sized sculpture.

The "Spinning Top Incense Container," with its deep blue glaze and golden swirls, is an auspicious tool that welcomes the positive symbols of cycles and circulation into the tea room. When you open the lid, the incense smoke rises in swirling waves, and the rotation of the spinning top creates an invisible air current that gently envelops the entire tea room. Please try out the beauty of the shape and the exquisite glaze that are unique to Onishi Rakusai at any time of the year.

A conversation with Onishi Rakusai – High-end pottery specialty store [Amagi Do]