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Since being introduced to the Karatsu pottery of Nakatsuka Takaya by Robert Yellin many years ago I have been on a constant look out for his pottery as I find it to be simple, honest and humble in its execution and appearance. Though I have had a number of encounters, overwhelmingly the chance meetings have been disproportionately chaire for some reason of another where out of perhaps twenty or so piece that I have handled, at least a dozen of them are of the diminutive form and scale. 

This particular chaire was my last serendipitous encounter just a little over a year ago and the initial impression was like I was looking at some well kept Edo specimen showing a rather simple and classic form with a surface created by using several glazes and the anticipated addenda from the wood firing process itself where fly ash has further enhanced the wardrobe of this chaire. Despite the propensity to run into chaire what I can say is the wide variety and range in form, surface and style the pieces have been from Ao-Karatsu to Madara Garatsu  and a few in between, all processing the look of antique pots from a tradition and time out of the past. Truth be told, I don't think I would complain if the next pot that I happen to see is a tea caddy as look as it is as interesting and conversant as this simple Karatsu chaire .