Tanba Match Tea Bowl

Statement

In the quiet hills of Tamba, I shape clay not only with my hands, but with time, fire, and the breath of the earth itself. Rooted in the traditions of Tamba ware—born from the ash-glazed surfaces of ancient anagama kilns—I seek forms that resonate with the present, while carrying echoes of the past.

Glaze is not a coating for me, but a language. In my Yūsai works, I layer ash glazes of differing compositions, allowing them to flow, merge, and respond to the heat of the kiln. Through subtle shifts in metal oxides and firing conditions, I invite unpredictability. What emerges are quiet gradations, delicate transitions—like the changing colors of leaves, or the fleeting shadow of a cloud.

In wood-fired pieces, I brush slips made from iron-rich Tamba clay onto the surface, then entrust the work to the flame. For three days and nights, the kiln burns at over 1300°C. Within that inferno, earth and fire converse. The resulting yōhen—kiln-transformed surfaces—are not something I can control, but something I witness. Each piece is a record of that elemental dialogue, a memory of fire.

To create is, for me, to listen: to the silence within the clay, the tension in the glaze, the voice of flame, and the wisdom of chance. I wish to continue this quiet practice—held between tradition and transformation—in the land where mountains rise, trees whisper, and the spirit of the earth still speaks.

History