{"product_id":"sakuma-hokyuu-matsufuru-kiln-karatsu-matcha-bowl-signed-box-wabi-stoneware-chawan","title":"Sakuma Hokyuu Matsufuru Kiln Karatsu Matcha Bowl — Signed Box, Wabi Stoneware Chawan","description":"Experience Authentic Japan Art with this Karatsu Stoneware Matcha Bowl. This Matsufuru Kiln Chawan serves as a Wabi Tea Ceremony Bowl and Japanese Collector Ceramics, featuring Natural Ash Glaze and Earthy Karatsu Clay Body—a must-have for any Art Collector.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Sakuma Hokyuu (佐久間芳丘)\u003cbr\u003e• Kiln: Matsufuru-gama (松古窯)\u003cbr\u003e• Style: Karatsu-yaki (唐津焼) — plain Karatsu (muji-karatsu)\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Wheel-thrown, natural ash glaze with iron-bearing clay body; artist seal impressed on foot\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Heisei period (1990s–2000s)\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Japan (Karatsu, Saga Prefecture tradition)\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Diameter approx. 14.5 cm \/ Height approx. 8 cm\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Original wooden tomobako (木箱) inscribed 茶碗 松古窯 芳丘\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: No chips or cracks; natural glaze variation is inherent — excellent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ Cultural \u0026amp; Artistic Insight ]\u003cbr\u003eKaratsu ware (唐津焼) ranks among the three most revered kiln traditions in Japan's tea ceremony canon—\"Ichi-Raku, Ni-Hagi, San-Karatsu\" (First Raku, Second Hagi, Third Karatsu). Produced in and around Karatsu in Saga Prefecture on the northern coast of Kyushu, its roots lie in the Korean potters who arrived during the late 16th-century continental campaigns of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. These immigrant craftsmen brought wheel-throwing techniques and stoneware sensibilities that merged with local Kyushu clays to create something entirely new: a ware of startling depth, mineral honesty, and quiet beauty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMuji-karatsu—plain Karatsu without painted decoration—is the most austere expression of this tradition. The bowl speaks entirely through clay and glaze: the warm, iron-rich body that fires to a range of brown and red-grey tones, the ash glaze that pools and breaks across the surface, and the overall silhouette that the potter throws with confident economy. Sakuma Hokyuu of Matsufuru-gama works precisely in this vein, producing bowls whose beauty lies in what is not done.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ Deep-Dive Commentary ]\u003cbr\u003eThis chawan is notably large—14.5 cm in diameter places it at the generous end of the matcha bowl spectrum, suited for a thick (koicha) preparation where the bowl's depth and breadth allow the tea master to work the whisk with ease. The wide, slightly flared profile gives the bowl a grounded, settled quality; it sits with authority.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe glaze is a study in restraint: a natural ash glaze in muted grey-brown that shifts subtly across the surface, darkening where it pools at the belly and thinning to near-transparency at the rim. Beneath the glaze, the clay body shows through in warm amber-brown tones at the foot and in patches where the glaze has broken during firing. The potter's seal is pressed into the foot-ring area—a small diamond-form mark, cleanly struck.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere is something philosophically significant about muji-karatsu bowls in the context of tea. Sen no Rikyu, who codified the wabi aesthetic of tea, is said to have most valued pottery that made no claims—that offered itself to function without ornament or assertion. A plain Karatsu bowl of this quality asks nothing of the viewer. It simply exists, waiting to be filled.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe wooden tomobako adds a layer of provenance and protects the piece for transit and storage. The inscription is clear and confident—a record that this bowl emerged from Matsufuru-gama under Sakuma Hokyuu's hands.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the collector building a working tea ceremony collection, or seeking a bowl that meditates on the relationship between clay and fire without distraction, this muji-karatsu chawan is a considered and complete acquisition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e---\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[ JAPANESE DESCRIPTION \/ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e作者：佐久間芳丘\u003cbr\u003e窯：松古窯\u003cbr\u003e様式：唐津焼（無地唐津）\u003cbr\u003e技法：轆轤成形・自然灰釉・鉄分多含む胎土・作家印\u003cbr\u003e寸法：径 約14.5cm \/ 高さ 約8cm\u003cbr\u003e木箱：「茶碗 松古窯 芳丘」墨書\u003cbr\u003e状態：ヒビ・カケなし。釉変化は本来の景色。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【文化的背景・作品解説】\u003cbr\u003e「一楽二萩三唐津」——茶碗の格付けにおいて三番手に挙げられる唐津焼は、豊臣秀吉の朝鮮出兵で渡来した陶工たちが九州の土と結びついて生まれた、日本茶陶の根源的な伝統である。無地唐津は装飾を一切排し、土と釉薬と炎のみで語る最もストイックな表現。径14.5cmの大振りな作域は濃茶用として最適で、朴訥な土味と灰釉のグラデーションが静かな存在感を放つ。佐久間芳丘は松古窯でこの伝統を現代に継承する。高台に押された作家印が確かな出所を示す。使い込むほどに景色が増す、実用と鑑賞を両立した一碗。\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":61744700850546,"sku":"260408_a_2680","price":696.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m43139734212_1.jpg?v=1775612535","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/sakuma-hokyuu-matsufuru-kiln-karatsu-matcha-bowl-signed-box-wabi-stoneware-chawan","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}