Bizen Beer Mug

This new Bizen beer mug was freshly fired in the kiln of Takashi Soga, who challenges the beauty of antiquity by recreating the environment in which Old Bizen pottery was fired. To replicate the style of the Old Bizen era, no refractory bricks or similar materials are used; consequently, the kiln operates outside the bounds of modern common sense in terms of internal thermal efficiency. Because of this, the work exhibits a superb "tsuchiaji" (texture of the clay) that transcends contemporary aesthetics and approaches the level of Old Bizen. Fired in a unique, chimney-less kiln that also eschews shelves and refractory bricks, the piece underwent unprecedented reactions, resulting in a mysterious finish featuring a "Black Bizen"-like surface streaked with silver, lightning-like *hidasuki* (fire-cord) patterns. Blue-silver particles, resembling scattered silver gravel, are visible on the clay surface, drawing the viewer deeper into a mysterious world of black and silver the more they look. Paper box
Diameter 7.1cm × 7.0cm × Height 11.2cm Takashi Soga was born in Tokyo in 1984. He studied under Jun Isezaki in 2009 and built his kiln in Kukui, Bizen City, in 2012. He became independent and began his career as a ceramic artist in 2013.