In
the recent post, BASHO MIKOMI I used a picture of the inside of a Furutani
Kazuya Iga chawan that made its way here somewhat recently. As a result of the
post, I received an email asking about the chawan and at the very least could I
post an overall picture of the piece which is a rather simple, feudal and
rustic bowl. Illustrated is the very first picture I took of the chawan using
only natural light and luckily a ton of fine details just popped out from the
totally covered ash surface and varying coloration to melting feldspar
punctuating the bowl, bursting like stars shining across the surface. There are
brilliant, emerald like areas of deep, rich bidoro tucked away in nooks and
crannies like around the foot exterior which just add to the throwing marks and
inviting form and slightly meandering lip. All of these details add depth and
substance to this chawan which maintains its elemental posture under the weight
of its feudal pedigree and dependence on tradition and the eloquent tutelage of
one of the 20th centuries finest Shigaraki/ Iga potters, Furutani Michio. It
may be somewhat presumptuous but it is easy to make the case that seeing this
chawan, Furutani Kazuya both maintains
and expands on a long standing tradition while adding to the Furutani legacy.
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