Whenever someone who’s familiar with Japanese ceramics holds a teabowl in his or her hands, he or she can instinctively sense the inner quality of the piece. The sensibility to subtle elements of the weight, the texture, and the flow of energy called me to this piece when I first acquired it in 1994.

This shino teabowl is designed with half-wheel, grass, fences and birds motifs. On the thick feldspathic white glaze surface small pinholes, charateristic of Shino ware; tea practitioners often referred to this effect as “yuzuhada” meaning “citron skin” (a spring citrus in Japan). The rough and unrefined style of potting and the feeling of it really bring together a strong sense of “wabi” taste (a beauty of things modest, humble, suggesting refined poverty) aesthetic. The unglazed V-shaped exterior base of this teabowl is also highly favourable among tea connoisseurs.