Iga Tea Bowl

Kai Tsujimura established his kiln nestled in the mountains of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, an area rich in nature. Firing his own kiln with wood, he devotes himself day after day to the practice of pottery. This unwavering commitment is the wellspring of the overwhelming vitality found in his work.

This Iga Tea Bowl is imbued with the artist’s vibrant sensibility, refined through a continual dialogue with fire and clay. The deliberately distorted kutsugata form maintains balance as a bowl, while holding a sense of freedom akin to the wind sweeping through mountain valleys, and radiates a distinctive presence filled with a quiet playfulness. After days of intense firing, vivid green vidro glaze drips across the surface, while deep crimson tones reminiscent of mountainsides darkened by the evening light richly color the clay body beneath.

Most striking are the countless white feldspar particles exposed within the glowing red clay. They appear as if sparks from the firewood have burst forth and fused directly into the clay, conveying a raw and vivid sense of life and motion. Condensed within this single bowl is a palpable vitality born from Kai’s pure commitment to making only what he truly believes to be good.