Shirotanka Shuten

This is a white carbonized *shuhai* (sake cup) by Toru Ichikawa, who made a stunning debut after studying under Ryuichi Kakurezaki. While one is immediately drawn to the avant-garde design brimming with originality, holding it in your hands reveals the immense passion poured into expressing the beauty of clay as a material. Achieving these beautiful curves and edges requires a terrifying amount of time and meticulous effort, combined with a deep understanding of the clay's properties; this piece was born from tirelessly forging the clay, much like a swordsmith. This process creates rough, wild cracks and textures on the surface that human hands could not replicate, resulting in a magnificent harmony with the color and volume of the glaze, each specially formulated for its specific clay body. Furthermore, extra care has been taken in the presentation of the crazing, where fine, three-dimensional crackle patterns shimmer like a rainbow prism, exuding a beauty reminiscent of mother-of-pearl inlay. Signed wooden box (shiho-san)
Diameter 5.7cm × Diameter 5.4cm × Height 7.0cm Toru Ichikawa was born in Tokyo. He studied under Ryuichi Kakurezaki starting in June 2011 and established his own studio in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, in January 2015.