There are times when Kawai Kanjiro and his students create
pieces that are as much about the truth of form as anything else. When these
pieces are simply glazed with minimal decoration they speak about the essence
and basics of pottery that is the Kawai tradition. Perhaps it was his long
exposure and proximity to the master, but the works of Kawai Takeichi best
carry on the tradition of Kanjiro without being copies or clones of his teacher.
Illustrated is a well proportioned chawan by Kawai Takeichi; the bowl sits
wonderfully perched atop a characteristic Kawai school foot. The classic form
is decorated in a rich, yet simple banding of a tessha iron glaze which has run
ever so slightly adding movement and interest to the form. It is a simple bowl
made of simple clay and with simple decoration but the reality is that it is
anything but simple and presents the Kawai style at its very core.
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