A kohiki chawan from Izumo's Kusumura ware tradition — white slip over dark clay, iron-oxide brushwork moving across the surface in abstract strokes that suggest grass, wind, or calligraphy never completed, Yanagira Katsushige, Unshuu Kusumura yaki, kohiki iron-painted chawan, abstract motif, Izumo ceramics, tomobako included.
[ BASIC DETAILS ] • Type: Kohiki tetsu-e chawan (matcha bowl with white slip and iron-oxide painting) • Decoration: Abstract iron-oxide brushwork suggesting botanical or calligraphic forms • Artist: Yanagira Katsushige (柳楽勝重), Unshuu Kusumura-yaki (雲州久村焼) • Dimensions: Approx. 13.5 cm diameter × 7.5 cm height • Condition: No chips noted; shows natural kiln characteristics • Provenance: Signed tomobako inscribed 粉引
[ CULTURAL INSIGHT ] Kohiki — literally "powder-drawn" — is the technique of applying white clay slip over a darker clay body, then glazing. The result is a surface with the texture of old parchment: slightly uneven, warm, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. Unshuu (Izumo province, present-day Shimane) has a ceramic history shaped by proximity to Korea, and kohiki in this region carries echoes of Joseon-era buncheong ware — the same unpretentious directness, the same willingness to let the clay speak. Yanagira Katsushige uses iron oxide not to describe but to suggest: the marks on this bowl are not identifiable botanical species but brushwork that contains the memory of plants.
[ DEEP DIVE ] The foot of this bowl shows unglazed clay in dark charcoal-brown — the raw Izumo clay revealing itself at the base, a deliberate feature of the kohiki aesthetic. The rim carries a thin iron-oxide edge where the glaze ends. The white slip surface is speckled with iron particles from the clay body, creating the characteristic texture that kohiki collectors call 「景色」(keshiki) — the scenery of the material itself. The abstract brushwork wraps the lower half of the bowl in three to four confident strokes, reminiscent of the Zen calligraphic gesture: nothing wasted, nothing added. The tomobako is inscribed with the artist's hand and the word 粉引 in forceful brushwork.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ] • Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days • Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking) • Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials
