Bizen Yunomi

This is a new Bizen tea cup, just removed from the kiln this June by Takashi Soga, an artist who challenges the beauty of the past by recreating the same environment in which Old Bizen was fired. To replicate the style of the Old Bizen era, no refractory bricks or modern conveniences are used; consequently, the kiln operates outside all modern conventional thermal efficiency standards. Because of this, it produces a superior earthen texture that transcends modern aesthetics and approaches the quality of Old Bizen. The kiln itself is constructed from clay, essentially firing pottery within pottery, and it is said that the earthen character shifts with every firing. In this piece, the *kinsai hidasuki* (gold-hued fire cord markings) is even more vibrant than in the previous kiln opening, with platinum-like fire cords draped over a silvery surface. While such *kinsai hidasuki* works often tend to have a somewhat sharp texture, it is marvelous that this piece retains the soft, delicate earthen skin characteristic of Soga-sensei’s work. Paper box
Diameter 8.0cm x 7.9cm x Height 9.5cm Takashi Soga was born in Tokyo in 1984. He studied under Jun Isezaki in 2009 and built his kiln in Kugu, Bizen City, in 2012. He began his independent pottery career in 2013.