Shino Glaze Tea Bowl by Ryugama Kiln - Japanese Matcha Chawan with Signed Box, Wabi-Sabi White Ceramic

Experience authentic Japanese tea culture with this Shino Glaze Tea Bowl from Ryugama Kiln. This generous Japanese Matcha Chawan serves as a Mino Ware Shino masterpiece and Handmade Tea Ceremony Bowl, featuring dramatic iron-spot keshiki and traditional white Shino glaze—a must-have for any Zen Ceramic collector seeking wabi-sabi beauty and authentic Japanese craft.

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🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]

• Artist: Ryugama Kiln (龍窯)
• Technique: Shino glaze (志野釉) with iron-spot keshiki on Mino clay
• Era: Contemporary (Heisei-Reiwa period)
• Origin: Mino, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
• Dimensions: Diameter approx. 12.5 cm × Height approx. 7.5 cm (4.9" × 3.0")
• Box: Tomobako (artist-signed wooden box)
• Condition: Excellent – no cracks, chips, or repairs

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🔹 [ CULTURAL & ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]

Shino ware (志野焼) stands as one of Japan's most beloved and philosophically resonant ceramic traditions. Emerging from the Mino kilns of Gifu Prefecture during the Momoyama period (late 16th century), Shino was the first Japanese glaze designed with deliberate imperfection as its aesthetic purpose — thick, milky-white feldspathic glazes interrupted by iron-oxide blotches, pinholes, and fire markings that refuse uniformity. This was not accident but intention, embodying the wabi-sabi principle that beauty lives precisely in irregularity and transience.

This bowl from Ryugama Kiln displays the classic hallmarks of fine Shino technique. The white glaze pools and thins unevenly across the generous body, creating zones of soft grey-blue shadow where the clay breathes through. Iron-brown spots and a dramatic blotch accent the exterior — the keshiki (景色, "scenery") that Shino collectors prize above all. The large, open form invites the hand; it is designed to be held, warmed, and contemplated. The undulating rim gives the bowl its living quality, as if still moving from the potter's touch.

*"White as snow before it settles — the Shino bowl carries silence the way winter holds its breath before dawn."*

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🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]

**Shino Glaze Chemistry**: The signature white of Shino comes from a thick feldspar-based glaze fired at relatively low temperatures, producing a soft, porous surface quite unlike the hard glossy glazes of Chinese-derived traditions. The pinholes visible across the surface are a celebrated feature — they are the glaze exhaling gases during firing, and their density indicates proper technique.

**Iron-Spot Keshiki**: The brown blotches and spots scattered across this bowl's exterior are iron-oxide residues from the clay body bleeding through the white glaze during firing. Collectors and tea masters assess these markings as they would a landscape painting — their placement, density, and tonality constitute the bowl's unique identity. No two Shino bowls share the same keshiki.

**Scale and Presence**: At 12.5 cm diameter this is a full-sized chawan appropriate for standard matcha preparation. The generous width allows the chasen (whisk) to move freely, and the thick walls retain heat well during winter tea gatherings. The slightly waisted form near the foot gives the bowl a grounded stability when set on the tatami.

**Ryugama Tradition**: The kiln name "Ryugama" (龍窯, Dragon Kiln) evokes the ancient climbing-kiln tradition of East Asia. The tomobako with brushed inscription confirms the artisan's pride in this work — a piece deemed worthy of formal presentation.

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🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]

【基本情報】
• 作家：龍窯
• 技法：志野釉、鉄斑景色
• 時代：現代（平成〜令和）
• 産地：岐阜県・美濃
• 寸法：直径約12.5cm × 高さ約7.5cm
• 付属：共箱
• 状態：良好（ヒビ・カケなし）

【解説】
志野焼は美濃を代表する陶芸の一つで、桃山時代に茶道美学と深く結びついて発展しました。長石釉の白と、鉄分による茶褐色の斑文が生み出す「景色」が最大の魅力です。本作は龍窯による志野茶碗で、白釉の厚みと鉄斑の配置が絶妙なバランスを見せています。

やや大ぶりで存在感のある形は、手に馴染みやすく茶事の場でも映える姿です。共箱付きで保存状態も良好。日常のお点前にも、茶室の飾りとしても十分な格を持った一碗です。志野の侘びた白の世界を、ぜひお手元でお楽しみください。

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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

*Where white glaze meets fire, a landscape is born — and every bowl becomes a window onto a winter morning in Mino.*