IGA-KARATSU

I just recently received a handful of catalogues from a friend who was recently in Japan. My friend is a book collector and in searching book stores occasionally stumbles on to pottery catalogues, the interesting ones he picks up and sends to me as long as they are 500yen or cheaper which is his decision, not mine. In this most recent group was a rather old Tsukigata Nahiko catalogue that is mostly in black and white with the usual cast of characters from 1972 with the anomaly here and there. In this catalogue was the illustrated chawan that is described as Iga-Karatsu and details are a bit sketchy at best with what looks like a thin ash glaze over the whole bowl and areas of natural ash built up where the bowl was facing the front of the kiln.

This chawan certainly has a rather unique, medieval appearance to it and after combing through multiple references, I did not come across anything described in this particular way though I suspect the term Iga-Karatsu likely predates this pot. I can't say I know exactly what the motivation was in the description of this teabowl but I am sure that Tsukigata had his own rationale though not having ever seen another pot quite like this, I wonder in the end if this was the ultimate goal or a random series of fortuitous events. I suspect we, well I may never know unless another chawan, mizusashi or vase shows up tomorrow with the distinct hakogaki; IGA-KARATSU CHAWAN, as one can guess, stranger things have happened.

P.S. Thanks for sending the catalogues!