Shirahana Vase

Its surface, smooth and moist to the touch, invites the hand to linger. Tiny grains of stone glimmer faintly beneath the refined skin of the clay. The careful chamfering creates delicate shadows, accentuating its sculptural form. With its modern sensibility, one might be surprised to learn that this too is Bizen ware.

Shirahana (“white flower”) is a unique expression born from the artist’s repeated experiments with yakishime unglazed firing, in his effort to reveal the pure texture of Bizen clay itself. Like traditional Bizen ware, it is formed from local clay and fired without glaze. Instead of using a wood-fired climbing kiln, however, the artist employs a kerosene kiln, resulting in a refined appearance with minimal ash deposits and subdued firing marks. The name Shirahana (“white flower”) refers to the white, unglazed surface of the clay and is named after shirahana-iro, a traditional Japanese color of soft, pale white that evokes the purity and quiet beauty of a white blossom.

Unlike conventional Bizen ware, which celebrates the dynamic traces of flame, this work brings forth the quiet, inherent beauty of Bizen’s clay. With a calm presence that seems to gently absorb surrounding light and sound, it offers a sense of serene stillness and a moment of peace in the midst of our hurried modern lives.