A round, weighty cup in pale cream clay, crossed by bold strokes of scarlet. These are hidasuki — 'fire cords' — left where rice straw was wrapped around the piece before firing; here the lines cross and branch like a net drawn by fire. The cup stands on small pressed clay feet, and the handle carries a row of stamped circles along its spine. Inside, the flame has blushed the bowl a deep orange, gathering to a glossy pool at the centre.
Unglazed Bizen stoneware, wood-fired in one continuous firing near Bizen, Okayama (GPS 34.7456°N, 134.1894°E). Its colour and markings are kiln transformation (yōhen) — the record of earth and flame in a single moment, not a pattern anyone chose. One of a kind, shaped by human hands, and impossible to reproduce. Traceable to the kiln that made it.
Dimensions
Capacity: 150 ml
Height: 74 mm
Width: 120 mm (including handle)
Mouth: 83 mm
Weight: 330 g
Fragile by nature and packed for the journey. Ships worldwide from Japan.
