Miyaji Eiko Kyo Ware Matcha Bowl — Ise Lobster New Year Motif / Chawan Tea Ceremony

A Kyo ware matcha bowl by Miyaji Eiko, bearing a bold Ise lobster (ise-ebi) painted in vivid vermillion on a white crackle-glaze ground.

🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]
• Artist: Miyaji Eiko
• Origin: Kyoto, Japan
• Material: Kyo ware ceramic
• Motif: Ise Lobster (New Year auspicious motif)
• Era: 2000_2024
• Box: Tomobako (artist's wooden presentation box)
• Condition: Good, carefully inspected

🔹 [ Cultural & Artistic Insight ]
The lobster — one of Japan's most auspicious symbols — is rendered with confident, unhurried brushwork: each segment of the shell articulated, the antennae sweeping freely across the bowl's face. In Japanese ceremonial culture, the ise-ebi represents longevity and the endurance of vitality. To serve tea in this bowl at New Year or a celebratory gathering is to offer more than matcha — it is to offer a wish.

The exterior carries a fine craquelure typical of refined Kyoto ware, the white glaze softening to a pale blush near the foot. The interior is clean and glassy. The form is comfortably round, easy in the hands.

PHYSICAL DETAILS
• Diameter: approx. 12 cm / 4.7 in
• Height: approx. 7.5 cm / 3.0 in
• Ware type: Kyo ware (Kyoto ceramic)
• Decoration: Overglaze red (aka-e), Ise lobster motif
• Artist: Miyaji Eiko
• Condition: Excellent — no chips, cracks, or restoration. Interior clean.
• Box: Original paper box included

🔹 [ Deep-Dive Commentary ]
CULTURAL & ARTISTIC INSIGHT
The ise-ebi (Japanese spiny lobster) has appeared in auspicious imagery since the Heian period, prized for its longevity symbolism — the creature's bent form was likened to an elder's stooped silhouette, a living emblem of long life. In the tea ceremony world, motifs chosen for New Year gatherings (hatsu-gama) carry particular weight: the host's choice of bowl communicates a blessing to each guest.

Kyoto's ceramic tradition has long excelled at this intersection of painting and vessel — where the potter and the painter are one, and the glaze itself becomes the canvas. Miyaji Eiko works within this lineage, producing pieces that read as celebratory without becoming decorative excess.

IDEAL FOR
• New Year tea gatherings (hatsu-gama, shinnen chakai)
• Ceremonial and celebratory occasions
• Collectors of seasonal Japanese ceramics
• Gift for retirement, milestone birthday, or longevity celebration
• Display alongside New Year flower arrangements

🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]
白磁に朱赤の伊勢海老を大胆に描いた、宮地英香による京焼の抹茶碗。伊勢海老は長寿の吉祥紋として日本の正月・祝儀の席に古来より用いられ、初釜や慶事の一碗として格の高い選択となる。触角から甲羅の鱗紋まで丁寧な筆致で描かれ、白の貫入釉との対比が鮮烈。

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