Bizen-yaki teacup

This brand-new Bizen tea cup, fresh from the kiln of Takashi Soga, is a challenge to the beauty of the past, created by reproducing the same environment in which ancient Bizen pottery was fired. To replicate the style of the Old Bizen period, he avoids the use of firebricks and other modern materials, resulting in a kiln where conventional modern heat efficiency standards do not apply; consequently, it produces a superior earthen quality that transcends contemporary aesthetics and approaches that of Old Bizen. The brownish surface features a subdued *hidasuki* (fire-cord) pattern; while plain at first glance, the clay body possesses a powerful vitality that seems to explode, characteristic of Soga-sensei’s deep reverence for Old Bizen. A particular feature of this firing is the iron content that has bubbled up like sweat across the entire surface; combined with a surprisingly soft and delicate texture that belies its rugged appearance, this gap is a delight to experience in a tea cup—a work of art meant to be held. The aesthetic is reminiscent of the *hidasuki* work of the renowned master Ken Fujiwara.

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Diameter 7.6cm x 7.6cm x Height 9.5cm Takashi Soga was born in Tokyo in 1984. He studied under Jun Isezaki in 2009 and built his own kiln in Kugu, Bizen City, in 2012. He began his independent career as a ceramic artist in 2013.