Arguably one of the finest Ki-Seto potters of the
20th century, Kagami Shukai (1941-2009) created this little gem of a chaire in
his thoughful and classical style. This simple form with natural throwing marks
and taunt shoulder is covered in Kagami's unique Ki-Seto glaze with tanpan
(tanban, tampan), copper splashes on the on the face and back and a slight amount of koge, scorching around
the bottom third of the piece making this an ideal and crucial part of the tea
ceremony. Though seemingly simple in its creation, this chaire is the pinnacle of
the art and the result of years of practice and in depth research not only
honing his craft but also understanding the historical glaze and forms he
pursued; in fact his research into Mino pottery extended to archeological digs
and kiln and shard excavations to further his knowledge of the history, clay,
glazes and manufacture of Shino, Oribe, Seto-Guro and Ki-Seto in the region.
There is little else I can actually say about this wonderful little pot other
than stating the obvious, big things do come in small packages and in this
case it also packs a tremendous punch on nearly every level.
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