Gold-leaf Sake Cup "Kagutsuchi" Glow

This is a new gold-glazed sake cup, "Kagutsuchi-ki," by Toru Ichikawa, who made a brilliant debut after studying under Ryuichi Kakurezaki. It is an exceptionally inventive work that reflects Mr. Ichikawa's signature style of giving shape to his endless stream of ideas through the supreme medium of clay. This sake cup from the new "Kagutsuchi" series is a bold, latest work inspired by "Hinokagu-tsuchi-no-kami," the god of fire in Japanese mythology. Recalling the myth that the god was born from burning his mother, Izanami-no-mikoto, the piece features an intense, cracked "kairagi" glaze, pushed to the limit of its shrinkage as if it were burning through. As the god of fire is also worshipped as the god of metalworking, I believe this work embodies Mr. Ichikawa’s pride in the act of creation through fire, which is the essence of ceramics. With Kagutsuchi white glaze on the surface and Kagutsuchi gold glaze on the interior, the wild, bursting glaze texture possesses an intense presence, much like dragon scales. When held, the cup feels substantial and imposing, as if the artist's overflowing ideas are pulsating within the form of the clay. Signed wooden box (shiho-san) included
Diameter 8.8cm × Diameter 8.1cm × Height 6.8cm Toru Ichikawa was born in Tokyo. He began studying under Ryuichi Kakurezaki in June 2011 and established his own studio in Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture, in January 2015.