Hasegawa Seiho Aka-Shino Tea Grinder Kogo Incense Container with Tomobako

The object models itself on a stone hand-mill — the chauso, the grinder that preceded the whisk — and holds that weight in fired clay. This kogo (incense container) by Hasegawa Seiho is made in aka-shino (red Shino) ware and formed in the shape of a tea grinder: a shallow cylinder raised on a small flange base, with two small lug-like handles at the sides. The lid's center bears a single perforation — where the spindle would have passed.

The surface carries aka-shino's characteristic spectrum: deep red-brown ground with mottled ash-white passages where the glaze thinned, and dark speckling where iron in the clay body fired through. The form is resolved. Nothing is added that does not serve the metaphor of the millstone — the slow transformation of leaf to powder, of raw material to ceremony.

Included: tomobako (original wooden box) inscribed "赤志野 茶臼 香合 / 青峯" with artist seal.

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[ BASIC DETAILS ]
• Type: Kogo (incense container)
• Form: Chauso-gata (tea-grinder shape)
• Dimensions: Approx. D 6.6 cm × H 3.5 cm
• Technique: Aka-shino (red Shino) stoneware
• Condition: Good; no chips or repairs; minor kiln marks consistent with the firing
• Provenance: Tomobako inscribed "赤志野 茶臼 香合 / 青峯" with seal
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Shino ware is among the oldest distinctly Japanese ceramic traditions — developed in the Mino region during the Momoyama period as tea masters sought objects that carried roughness rather than refinement. Aka-shino, the red variant, results from iron in the clay body oxidizing at high temperature: the surface blushes, then deepens, then speckles where the chemistry was uneven. Each piece is a record of its own firing.

The chauso-gata kogo carries additional resonance: it holds incense in the shape of the object that made tea possible. The bowl was born from the grinder. The incense container honors that origin.

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【日本語説明】
長谷川青峯造、赤志野焼の茶臼形香合。茶臼（石臼）を模した形に赤志野特有の赤褐色と白釉の変化が美しい作品。共箱銘「赤志野 茶臼 香合 / 青峯」。状態良好。
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🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials