梅原宗弘 SŌKŌ UMEHARA
Yoshi En has recently grown out of Sunday Natural to become an independent premium tea store. As part of this transition, some products may still be shipped in Sunday Natural packaging.
This traditional kyusu by Master Soko from Tokoname, made in the 1970s from clay qualities that have since been unmatched, is unique and a collector's item. Born in 1941, Soko achieved the status of Master Traditional Craftsman (伝統工芸士) in 1993. His kyusus are famous for their detailed bodies and precisely engraved filters. He has an accomplished Hiyohen (火窯変) technique that makes each of his pieces unique. This kyusu has a wonderfully organic feel due to the perfect firing.
Tokoname is one of Japan's six ancient ceramic centres. High-quality earthenware has been produced here since the 12th century. The particularly ferruginous clay deposits still present there are responsible for the characteristic red body which, together with the oxidation firing, is crutial for optimising the taste of the tea. A special feature of the production of Kyusu from Tokoname are the lids, which are cut by hand and fit precisely.
A kyusu is a traditional Japanese teapot for the ideal preparation of Japanese green tea. Fired from natural clay and unglazed on the inside, the body reacts with the water and the tea and brings out certain aromas. The tea can steep optimally free-floating in the pot; moreover, the leaves lie advantageously over the integrated sieve when poured in, so that on the one hand they filter themselves, on the other hand they allow a more complete extraction of flavours and ingredients. The tea is only ever brewed fresh, but several times. The side handle and the knob on the lid prevent the hand from coming into contact with the excessively hot body.
Throughout history, there have been hundreds of ceramic centres in Japan, wherever the volcanic soil had rich clay deposits. Some are still active today, including the six most important "old kilns" (jap. Rokkoyo): Bizen, Shigaraki, Seto, Echizen, Tamba and Tokoname. But also others such as Karatsu, Hagi, Mino, Shino, Oribe, Setoguro Ki-Seto and Kyo-yaki, and for tea ceramics above all Banko in Yokkaichi.
They differ regionally according to the composition of the clay, the prevalent firing method, the handwork steps, decoration and glazing techniques and the fineness or deliberate coarseness of the production. Above all, the clay and the firing determine the flavourful character of the kyusu, i.e. which types of flavours of a tea are lifted or subdued by it. For this reason, tea lovers often have various Kyusu of different qualities at home, in order to enable the optimal preparation depending on the tea and its quality. Among the finest and most valuable kyusu are those made by famous artists who are renowned not only for their special talents in manufacturing, form and decoration, but also for their own production of the natural clay as well as their own firing techniques that result in unique qualities.
Led by the Living National Treasures, the most highly awarded masters, there is a whole hierarchy of craftsmanship, ranging from studios that still draw on the reputation of past masters, young and wild studios, to family-run micro-enterprises that produce the bulk of everyday ceramics. Important collector's items are the vintage kyusus, which are still made entirely from now exhausted deposits of the highest quality natural clay of the respective region and thus achieve incomparable qualities in tea infusion.
Tokoname is the oldest of Japan's so-called Six Old Kilns (jap.: roku koyo, 日本六古窯). With about 200 kilns for traditional ceramics, Tokoname is now the largest centre of ceramics production. The pure natural clay (shudei) is red and particularly rich in iron, and has special properties in terms of taste and effect on green tea. Unlike other regions, Tokoname still has - albeit diminishing - reserves of its famous natural clay.
For the famous Shudei Kyusu, the most iron-rich, fine-grained clay with a special colour is used, which is found under rice fields in Tokoname. The even more special, genuine Hon Shudei clay with the ideal iron content, however, has become so rare that nowadays Shudei is additionally enriched with natural iron oxide in order to really achieve the desired shade of genuine Hon Shudei.
One way of producing differently coloured kyusus is to use chara (Japanese: チャラ) on shudei kyusus. To do this, the potter sprays on a mixture of red clay and natural colour pigments after shaping the base. The process is called chara-gake. The kyusu is then fired. Finished Shudei pots with Chara have a special shine, which is achieved by polishing the potted Kyusu with a metal spatula or cloth before firing. For this reason, glazes or on-glaze painting are often avoided to let the clay speak for itself.
In the production of Tokoname kyusu, the so-called oxidation firing for red and the reduction firing for purple to black shards are used on gas or electric kilns. Some studios, especially well-known artists, sometimes use a combination of the two techniques for special colour patterns (jap.: Yohen 窯変). Oxidation firing is done between 1100 and 1200 degrees Celsius, depending on the clay, and must be controlled extremely closely because of the colour changes and the risk of cracking.
The introduction of the multi-vaulted multi-chamber hang kiln (Jap.: renboshiki-noborigama, 連房式登窯) in 1834 improved the control of the firing process compared to earlier kilns. This and the help of Chinese specialists made possible the development of the red, unglazed Shudei ware (jap.: Yakishime; 焼き締め). Tokoname has become famous throughout Japan, or rather the world, especially for the shudei kyusus made of red toki. But the studios of the region are also known for many other techniques, such as ash glazing (jap.: kaiyu; 灰釉), dark burn marks by carbon impregnation (koge), celadon work and the mixing of different types and colours of clay.
