{"product_id":"butterfly-matcha-bowl-by-oshikoji-kiln-soft-white-crackle-glaze-iro-e-motif","title":"Butterfly Matcha Bowl by Oshikoji Kiln — Soft White Crackle Glaze, Iro-e Motif","description":"A seasonal matcha bowl from Oshikoji kiln — white crackle glaze with blush-pink flush, delicate gold butterfly and teal grass iro-e motif. Japanese tea bowl, chawan for matcha, kyo-yaki overglaze enamel, butterfly motif tea ceremony ceramics, Japanese ceramic gift.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e• Kiln: Oshikoji-gama (押小路窯), Kyoto\u003cbr\u003e• Form: Matcha chawan, rounded form, short foot ring\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: White crackle glaze (shirahaku) with overglaze enamel (iro-e) — gold butterfly, teal grass stroke, blue accent dots\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Contemporary (Showa–Heisei period)\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Kyoto, Japan\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Diameter approx. 11.5 cm, height approx. 6.5 cm\u003cbr\u003e• Box: None\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Good overall; minor glaze crazing is natural and intentional; pink blush tones consistent across body\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003eThe butterfly (cho) is one of the most enduring motifs in Japanese decorative art — a symbol of transformation, the lightness of summer, and the irreducible beauty of the transient. On a tea bowl, it appears as a kind of guest: arrived without announcement, hovering above a line of teal grass, its wings rendered in gold so the kiln's warmth still glows within. The Oshikoji kiln, working within the Kyoto tradition, grounds this imagery in a glaze that does not simply serve as background. The crackle-white surface with its warm pink suffusion is itself a landscape — a dawn sky, a fog-softened hillside. When matcha meets this interior, the green becomes the final element in a composition that the potter prepared and the drinker completes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003eThe exterior of this bowl presents the composition deliberately distributed rather than centered — a butterfly above a diagonal teal line, gold dots, a second flower motif lower left. This asymmetry is of the Rinpa aesthetic tradition: not randomness but the studied placement of elements that breathe against each other rather than crowd. The teal stroke, painted with a single loaded brush, reads as both grass stalk and brushstroke simultaneously.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe interior shows the full depth of the glaze. Up close, the pinkish-white surface reveals a complex internal structure: fine crackle lines running through a base that shifts between ash-white and warm blush. At the center, where the matcha pools, the glaze clears slightly, creating a subtle well of focus. This is not an accident of production — it is the consequence of a glaze recipe tuned over years of firing experience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe form itself is generous without being heavy. The rounded body holds warmth in the hands; the lip is slightly thickened in a way that makes drinking feel intentional rather than incidental. This is a bowl that rewards use. Unlike display-only pieces, the iro-e butterfly tea bowl has a seasonal character — most naturally suited to spring, when butterflies are newly arrived and the world still feels tentative with new growth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor international collectors, this piece offers immediate visual access to the Kyoto aesthetic: colorful, refined, grounded in natural motif, and executed with the controlled elegance that distinguishes kyo-yaki from its more austere cousins.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[ JAPANESE DESCRIPTION \/ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e🔹 【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e• 窯：押小路窯（京都）\u003cbr\u003e• 形状：抹茶碗、丸形、低い高台\u003cbr\u003e• 技法：白釉貫入地に色絵（金彩蝶文・青緑草文・青点）\u003cbr\u003e• 時代：昭和〜平成期\u003cbr\u003e• 産地：京都\u003cbr\u003e• 寸法：直径約11.5cm、高さ約6.5cm\u003cbr\u003e• 箱：なし\u003cbr\u003e• 状態：良好。貫入は自然かつ意図的なもの\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 【文化・芸術的背景】\u003cbr\u003e蝶は日本の装飾芸術において変容と夏の軽やかさを象徴する意匠である。茶碗の上でそれは一つの訪問者として現れる——青緑の草の上を金箔の羽で舞う。押小路窯のこの作品は、白釉に温かなピンクの滲みが映える景色の中に、蝶を静かに置いた。抹茶の緑が内側に注がれたとき、この構成は完成する。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 【コレクター向け解説】\u003cbr\u003e外側の意匠は琳派的な非対称性を持ち、蝶・草・花文が自然な間を持って配置されている。内側の釉薬は白と薄桃色の間で揺れ、中央に向かって静かに透明度が増す。形状は手にやさしく丸く、飲み口は適度に厚みがあり、使用に喜びを感じさせる。春に特に映える、色彩豊かな京焼の一椀。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ SHIPPING \u0026amp; PACKAGING ]\u003cbr\u003e• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days\u003cbr\u003e• Carrier: Japan Post EMS \/ UPS (with tracking)\u003cbr\u003e• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61654057091442,"sku":"260307_a_2423","price":623.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m81096306563_1.jpg?v=1773285567","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/butterfly-matcha-bowl-by-oshikoji-kiln-soft-white-crackle-glaze-iro-e-motif","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}