JUST THE BEGINNING

Illustrated is a rather simple, functional  and direct Shino chawan that is as much about the beginning as it is anything else. This robust Shino chawan was made by Tsukigata Nahiko sometime during the early 1960s and is the earliest teabowl by him that I have ever seen and the bottom of the box has a large archaic looking red seal stamped on it that looks like something out of the middle ages. Thrown out of a familiar looking clay, the body was first dipped in an iron slip and then a Shino glaze and where his fingers held the bowl, rich red patches punctuate the surface along with areas where the slip has worked its way through the glaze to create a sense of chaos and reaction. The shape of the bowl is a bit conservative but if you look carefully you can see what will become the more classic Tsukigata foot and the space he uses at the base, lift of the pot and the shadow line all give hints as to where they will evolve. Though this was just the beginning for Tsukigata Nahiko, he could have easily been content with marrying the styles of Momoyama and his master but he set about an arduous and determined route and found his way to the path of where demon Shino and the ferocity of the flame meet head on.