Black Chawan by Kato Sakusuke — Fuyukomori, Koseto Kiln, with Original Signed Box

A black-glazed tea bowl by Kato Sakusuke, made at Koseto Kiln and inscribed with the name Fuyukomori — winter stillness, a thing gone quiet beneath snow. The body is full and rounded, the iron-black glaze pooling deep at the well, its surface alive with fine pinholes that catch the light without announcing themselves. The unglazed foot stands in warm tan stoneware, cleanly trimmed and unhurried.

🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]
• Artist: Kato Sakusuke (加藤作助)
• Kiln: Koseto Kiln (古瀬戸窯)
• Piece Name: Fuyukomori (冬こも里) — "winter seclusion"
• Technique: Iron black glaze (kuro-yu / tetsuyuu) over stoneware
• Form: Chawan (matcha tea bowl), rounded shouldered form
• Era: Post-2000 (contemporary)
• Origin: Seto, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
• Dimensions: Diameter approx. 11.0 cm, Height approx. 8.0 cm
• Included: Original signed wooden box (共箱 / tomobako), silk fukusa cloth (共布), artist booklet (栞)
• Condition: No chips, cracks, or visible repairs; no notable soiling

🔹 [ CULTURAL & ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]
Seto — one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan — has produced ceramics for over a thousand years. It is the origin of the Japanese word for pottery itself: setomono. Within that long lineage, the black-glazed chawan carries a particular weight. Sen no Rikyu, the sixteenth-century tea master who defined the aesthetic of wabi-cha, elevated the black Raku bowl as the ideal vessel — humble, warm in the hand, absorbing rather than reflecting the world. Seto's iron-black tradition runs parallel: a different clay, a different kiln, but the same orientation toward darkness as depth rather than absence.

The name Fuyukomori — winter seclusion — is not decorative. It is a statement of intention. In the seasonal language of the tea room, winter is the innermost chamber: the hearth sunk into the floor, the gathering pulled close, the bowl held in both hands against the cold. This piece was made to belong to that moment.

The fine pinholes distributed across the glaze surface — a natural byproduct of the iron oxide releasing during firing — give the black a quiet texture. It does not shine like lacquer. It absorbs like earth.

Philosophical line: Winter does not ask to be endured. It asks to be entered.

🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]
Koseto Kiln (古瀬戸窯) works within the classical Seto ceramic tradition, which encompasses a wide range of glazed stonewares including ash glazes, iron glazes, and feldspar-based surfaces. The black iron glaze seen on this chawan belongs to a category sometimes called Seto-guro or kuro-tetsuyuu — a high-iron glaze that, when fired in reduction or with particular atmospheric control, achieves a depth ranging from warm brown-black to pure jet. The surface on this piece reads as a true iron black, dense and settled, with the fine pinhole texture that distinguishes hand-applied glaze from industrially uniform coatings.

The form is classical: a well-proportioned rounded body with a moderate shouldered curve and an open rim appropriate for both temae (formal preparation) and direct drinking. At 11.0 cm diameter and 8.0 cm height, it falls within the standard chawan range, suitable for the ro season (winter hearth period) when the bowl's thermal mass and depth become active elements of the experience.

The tomobako — the original wooden box signed and sealed by the artist — is the authentication document. The brushwork inscription on the lid names the piece (Fuyukomori) and carries Kato Sakusuke's personal seal. For collectors, the tomobako is not packaging. It is provenance.

The yellow silk fukusa cloth and the printed artist booklet (栞) complete the set as it left the kiln — intact, unaltered, and coherent as a single object of intent.

[ JAPANESE DESCRIPTION / 日本語解説 ]
加藤作助による黒茶碗。古瀬戸窯にて制作され、「冬こも里」と銘が入れられたこの一碗は、雪の下で静まり返る冬の気配を宿す。丸みを帯びた豊かな形、鉄釉の漆黒は碗の内側へと深く溜まり、表面には細かな釉泡が光を受けて静かに呼吸する。無釉の高台は温かみのある土色で、ていねいに削り出されている。

■ 基本情報
・作家：加藤作助
・窯：古瀬戸窯
・銘：冬こも里
・技法：鉄釉（黒釉）、炻器
・形状：抹茶碗、丸形
・時代：現代（2000年以降）
・産地：愛知県瀬戸市
・寸法：口径 約11.0cm、高さ 約8.0cm
・付属品：共箱（蓋裏に作家自筆・落款あり）、共布（黄）、栞
・状態：目立った傷・欠け・ニュウなし

■ 文化的背景
瀬戸は日本六古窯のひとつであり、「せともの」という言葉の語源ともなった焼き物の聖地である。その長い歴史の中で、黒釉の茶碗は特別な文脈を持つ。千利休が侘び茶の理念として黒楽茶碗を高く評価したように、黒という色は単なる色ではなく、光を受け取り、沈黙を持ち、手のひらに馴染む器の在り方そのものを象徴する。

「冬こも里」という銘は、装飾ではない。炉の季節——火が床に落ち、人が寄り集まり、両手で茶碗を包む季節——に向けられた、作家の意志の言葉である。

■ 深層解説
鉄釉は、高い鉄分を含む釉薬を焼成することで生まれる。還元炎の制御によって、温かみのある茶褐色から純粋な漆黒まで幅広い表情をもたらす。この茶碗の黒は深く落ち着いた鉄の色で、表面に散る細かな釉泡（ピンホール）が手仕事の証として静かに残っている。

口径11.0cm、高さ8.0cmという寸法は炉の季節に適した標準的な茶碗の形状であり、茶の温度を保ちながら手にしっくりと収まる。

共箱の蓋には作家自らの筆で銘と落款が記されており、それ自体がこの作品の証明書として機能する。黄色の共布、栞とともに、窯から出た状態のまま、完全な姿で保存されている。

冬は耐えるものではなく、入っていくものだ。

🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS / FedEx (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials