{"product_id":"iris-chawan-tea-bowl-by-kinkozan-koho-iro-e-kakitsubata-kyoto-ware-with-original-signed-box","title":"Iris Chawan Tea Bowl by Kinkozan Koho — Iro-e Kakitsubata Kyoto Ware with Original Signed Box","description":"Experience Authentic Japan Art with this Kyoto Ware Tea Bowl. This Kinkozan Iris Chawan serves as a Japanese Tea Ceremony Bowl and Iro-e Overglaze Enamel Pottery, featuring Kakitsubata Iris Motif and Kyo-yaki Ceramic—a must-have for any Art Collector seeking Antique Japanese Ceramics with Signed Wooden Box.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Kinkozan Koho (錦光山香峰), Kinkozan kiln — one of Kyoto's most storied ceramic houses, founded 1645\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Iro-e overglaze enamel (色絵), moriage raised-enamel painting; cobalt-blue and white kakitsubata iris rendered in fine relief against a warm ivory ground\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Showa–Heisei period (estimated mid-to-late 20th century)\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Kyo-yaki \/ Kyoto ware (京焼), Kyoto, Japan\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Diameter approx. 12 cm, Height approx. 7.8 cm\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Original signed wooden tomobako with maker's seal; booklet (栞) included; outer protective box present\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Near-mint (極美品). No chips, cracks, or crazing. Interior shows faint kiln blush entirely consistent with age — no damage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHistorical Context\u003cbr\u003eKinkozan is not merely a kiln — it is a lineage. Established in 1645 in the Awataguchi district of Higashiyama, the family atelier operated for over three hundred years alongside the imperial cultural institutions of Kyoto. Their iro-e tradition draws from the Kenzan and Ninsei schools: the same conviction that a tea bowl is not decoration but a quiet stage for ceremony.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe kakitsubata iris has held a privileged place in Japanese aesthetic consciousness since the Heian era. It anchors the fifty-fourth chapter of The Tales of Ise — the poem in which Ariwara no Narihira composed his most celebrated acrostic, hiding the word ka-ki-tsu-ba-ta across five lines of longing and exile. To place this motif on a chawan is to bring that cultural density into the palms of the drinker.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTechnique \u0026amp; Aesthetic\u003cbr\u003eOn this bowl, blue irises and white irises stand together — an unusual duality. In classical convention, kakitsubata are depicted as a single mass of deep violet-blue. Here Kinkozan Koho introduces white-petaled specimens among the cobalt, their centers brushed with pale gold and pale yellow, creating a conversation between restraint and bloom. The moriage enamel work — raised, almost tactile — gives the flower beds a relief presence one does not expect at this scale. Thin gold line-work traces stem and petal edges; the leaves carry a warm teal that deepens near the base.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTurn the bowl upright: a single iris peeks from the inner wall, near the rim, as if rooted in the tea itself. This interior motif — glimpsed only during the act of drinking — embodies the tea ceremony principle of ichigo ichie (一期一会): this moment, unrepeatable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePhilosophical Reflection\u003cbr\u003e\"The blue iris opens before the rains arrive. It has already said what it came to say.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the Kinkozan Lineage\u003cbr\u003eThe Kinkozan house is distinct from other Kyoto kilns in that it maintained both a court-facing aesthetic and a commercial export sensibility from the Meiji era onward — producing some of the most technically refined iro-e pieces seen in Western collections today. The name Kinkozan (錦光山, \"brocade-light mountain\") reflects the shimmering quality of light the house pursued in its glazework. Within the house, the suffix \"Koho\" (香峰, \"fragrant peak\") designates a titled artisan of senior rank. Work signed Kinkozan Koho carries the full institutional weight of a living tradition that has served the Japanese imperial household.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Iro-e and Moriage Technique\u003cbr\u003eIro-e, or overglaze polychrome painting, is applied after the first glaze firing. Pigments mixed with lead- or boron-based flux are brushed directly onto the cooled glaze surface, then refired at lower temperature (typically 700–800°C) to fuse the colors. Moriage — the raising of enamel lines — requires the painter to build thickness through repeated passes, controlling flow so the enamel stands without spreading. The craft demands patience: each color layer must set before the next is laid down. The result is a surface that reflects light differently at every angle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Seasonality and Tea Practice\u003cbr\u003eIn the chado tradition, bowl selection follows the calendar with deliberate precision. The kakitsubata iris blooms in early summer — late April through May in the Japanese calendar — making this chawan the ideal utensil for a hatsugama or early summer chakai. The pairing with a celadon or white natsume tea caddy, or with a silver kama, would complete the seasonal register. The bowl's interior width (approx. 10 cm at rim) accommodates both thick tea (koicha) and thin tea (usucha) with ease, confirming its functional versatility alongside its aesthetic depth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Collectibility\u003cbr\u003ePieces from named Kinkozan artisans with intact tomobako, booklet, and outer box represent the completest form of provenance in Japanese ceramic collecting. The tomobako lid carries the artist's signature and kiln seal — a document as much as a container. For the advanced collector, the box is not ancillary: it is the object's memory. This ensemble — bowl, inner box, booklet, outer box — is intact.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[ JAPANESE DESCRIPTION \/ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e• 作家：錦光山香峰（にしきこうざん こうほう）。錦光山窯は1645年（正保2年）創業、粟田口を拠点とする京焼の名門。\u003cbr\u003e• 技法：色絵（上絵付け）・盛絵。白釉の器面に、藍の杜若と白杜若を盛り上げ絵で細密に描く。金線による輪郭取り。\u003cbr\u003e• 年代：昭和後期〜平成初期頃（推定）\u003cbr\u003e• 産地：京焼（京都府）\u003cbr\u003e• 寸法：直径 約12cm、高さ 約7.8cm\u003cbr\u003e• 付属：共箱（作家署名・錦光山印入り）・栞付き・外箱完備\u003cbr\u003e• 状態：極美品。欠け・割れ・貫入なし。見込みにごくわずかな窯ブラシあり（経年による自然現象）。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 【文化的・芸術的所見】\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e錦光山は単なる窯名ではない。東山・粟田口に1645年に開かれたこの窯は、仁清・乾山の流れを汲む京焼の精神を三世紀以上にわたって継承してきた。「錦光山」の名が示す通り、錦の光のごとく輝く釉調を追い求めた家業は、皇室献上品をも手掛けるに至った。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e杜若（かきつばた）は日本の美意識に深く根ざした意匠である。『伊勢物語』第九段において、在原業平が「かきつばた」の五文字を折り句に詠み込んだ歌は、旅愁と恋慕の象徴として後世に語り継がれてきた。その花を茶盌に描くことは、文学的記憶と季節の感覚を、茶を点てる者の掌の中に置くことを意味する。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e本作では、藍紺の杜若と白の杜若が共に描かれている。これは古典的な杜若図（一色の藍紫が主流）からの逸脱であり、Kinkozan Kohoの個性的な解釈である。白花の中心には淡い金彩と淡黄が施され、藍との対話が生まれている。盛り上げ絵の質感は指先で感じられるほどの存在感をもち、細い金線が茎と花弁の輪郭を丹念にたどる。葉には青みがかった緑が用いられ、器底に向けて深みを増す。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e見込みには杜若一輪が静かに咲いている。飲み干す瞬間にだけ現れるこの景色は、一期一会の精神そのものである。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e「青い杜若は、雨が来る前に咲く。言うべきことはすでに語り終えている。」\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 【上級コレクター向け解説】\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e錦光山香峰という銘について\u003cbr\u003e錦光山窯では、家号に続く通称（号）が職人の格を示す。「香峰（こうほう）」は窯内における上位の肩書きであり、この銘が記された作品は窯の正規品として継承される。共箱の蓋裏に作家の署名と窯印が記されており、これはコレクターにとって最も信頼性の高い来歴の証左となる。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e色絵・盛絵の技法について\u003cbr\u003e色絵は本焼き後の釉面に上絵具を施し、700〜800度の低火度で再焼成する技法である。盛絵はさらに絵具を重ねて塗り重ね、釉面上に立体的な凹凸を生み出す。一層ごとに乾燥を待ちながら筆を重ねる工程は、高度な習熟と忍耐を要する。完成した表面は光の角度により異なる表情を見せる。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e茶道における季節性について\u003cbr\u003e茶道では、道具組みは歳時記に従う。杜若は旧暦四月〜五月、すなわち初夏に咲く花であり、本作は初夏の取り合わせに最適な一碗である。白や青磁の薄器と合わせれば、清涼な夏の茶席が整う。口径約10cmの碗形は、濃茶・薄茶ともに対応する実用的な大きさでもある。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e共箱・栞・外箱の揃いについて\u003cbr\u003e日本の陶磁器収集において、作家の署名入り共箱・栞・外箱が三点揃う状態は、最も完全な来歴の形である。箱は単なる保管容器ではなく、作品の記憶を収めた器である。この一組は、その意味において申し分なく整っている。\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":61795313844594,"sku":"260422_a_2740","price":994.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m75441765817_1.jpg?v=1776868275","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/iris-chawan-tea-bowl-by-kinkozan-koho-iro-e-kakitsubata-kyoto-ware-with-original-signed-box","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}