{"product_id":"shino-tea-bowl-by-shusaku-japanese-matcha-chawan-with-kairagi-pitting-and-signed-box","title":"Shino Tea Bowl by Shusaku - Japanese Matcha Chawan with Kairagi Pitting and Signed Box","description":"Experience authentic Japanese tea culture with this Shino Tea Bowl by Shusaku (秀作). This Japanese Matcha Chawan serves as a Mino Shino Ware masterpiece and Handmade Tea Ceremony Bowl, featuring intense kairagi surface pitting across the entire white glaze exterior—a must-have for any Zen Ceramic collector seeking the tactile depth and wabi-sabi richness of classic Shino ware.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Shusaku (秀作)\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Shino glaze (志野釉) with dense kairagi pinholes on Mino stoneware\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Contemporary (Heisei-Reiwa period)\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Mino, Gifu Prefecture, Japan\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Diameter approx. 12 cm × Height approx. 8 cm (4.7\" × 3.1\")\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Tomobako (artist-signed wooden box)\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Excellent – no cracks, chips, or repairs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong all the surface effects prized in Shino ware, kairagi (梅花皮, literally \"plum blossom skin\") stands as perhaps the most distinctive and tactilely compelling. It refers to the dense field of tiny pinholes and erupted glaze bubbles that form when the thick Shino glaze fires at a temperature that allows gas to escape through the glaze skin — a process controlled by the balance between firing speed, glaze thickness, and clay body composition. A successful kairagi surface resembles the skin of certain fish or the cratered face of old stone, rough to the touch yet even in its distribution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis tea bowl by Shusaku is defined by an exceptionally even and dense kairagi across the entire cylindrical exterior. Looking at the photographs, virtually the entire outer surface is covered in this fine punctured texture — the white Shino glaze interrupted by hundreds of tiny rust-edged holes where iron from the clay has oxidized at each pore. Where the glaze pools at the rim and catches the light differently, a warm cream-gold tone emerges, contrasting beautifully with the pure white of the body. The interior is glazed smooth — clean and functional, a restful pool of white after the energetic texture outside.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe bowl's form is relatively cylindrical and upright — a confident, open shape that makes it easy to work the chasen inside while the exterior texture gives the hands something to engage with during contemplation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*\"Ten thousand small windows in white — through each one, a glimpse of fire that passed through and kept moving.*\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Kairagi Formation Process**: Kairagi develops when thick feldspar glaze traps gases released by the clay body during firing. As the kiln temperature climbs, the glaze softens and the trapped gas pushes through, creating pinhole eruptions. The key variable is the glaze thickness — too thin and gas escapes without pitting; too thick and the holes collapse back. Achieving an even, aesthetically satisfying kairagi requires precise control of glaze application and firing curve.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Iron-Spot Integration**: At each kairagi pinhole on this bowl, the raw clay is exposed, and the iron in the Mino clay oxidizes to a warm rust-brown at these points. This creates a pattern of fine rust-orange dots across the white surface — a secondary layer of visual texture that emerges from the same physical process as the pitting. The density and evenness of this effect on the present bowl indicates a well-controlled glaze application.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**The Cylindrical Form**: Many Shino chawan are rounded and organic in form; this bowl's more upright cylindrical profile reflects a different aesthetic choice — one that emphasizes the surface texture by presenting it flat, like a scroll of white ceramic parchment. The form does not compete with the kairagi; it serves it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Shusaku's Sealed Box**: The tomobako bears the inscription 志野 抹茶碗 秀作 with the maker's seal — a formal presentation indicating this piece was considered a finished, representative work by its maker.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e• 作家：秀作\u003cbr\u003e• 技法：志野釉、梅花皮\u003cbr\u003e• 時代：現代（平成〜令和）\u003cbr\u003e• 産地：岐阜県・美濃\u003cbr\u003e• 寸法：直径約12cm × 高さ約8cm\u003cbr\u003e• 付属：共箱\u003cbr\u003e• 状態：良好（ヒビ・カケなし）\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【解説】\u003cbr\u003e志野焼の最大の魅力の一つが「梅花皮（かいらぎ）」と呼ばれる釉肌です。本作はその梅花皮が器体全面に均一かつ密に現れており、見た目にも手触りにも深い存在感を放っています。白志野の釉薬が小さな孔を無数に開け、そこに鉄分が酸化して錆色の点景が生まれる様は、まさに志野焼ならではの景色です。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e円筒形のすっきりとした器形は、梅花皮の表情を引き立てるシンプルさを持っています。内側は滑らかで清潔感があり、実際のお茶の点て易さも十分。共箱付きで状態良好。日常のお点前から茶会まで広く活用できる一碗です。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*A thousand small fires left their marks and moved on — what remains is white, and all the more alive for having been tested.*","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61818855588210,"sku":"260429_a_2784","price":509.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m44367035861_1.jpg?v=1777479574","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/shino-tea-bowl-by-shusaku-japanese-matcha-chawan-with-kairagi-pitting-and-signed-box","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}