267. MURAKOSHI Takuma, 1954- , chawan (teabowl)

267. MURAKOSHI Takuma  村越琢磨, 1954- ,  chawan  茶碗  (teabowl)

For Murakoshi, see item no. 234.

 Light gray clay from Shigaraki, with some small white stone flecks mixed into the clay. Partially glazed in light gray, brown, and black, with kiln effects: ­hi-iro colors in the red coral range on the unglazed sections and light green bidoro and white shiseki deposits. Weight: 404 g (14 oz). Height: 7.3 cm (2-7/8 in). Width: of rim (widest): 15.8 x 10.8 cm (6-1/4 x 4-3/8 in); foot ring: 6.3 x 5.8 cm (2-1/2 x 2-1/4 in). 

Like items 235 and 265, this was hand-built using flat ribbons of clay. It sits on the flat foot ring, a rough oval, with the interior hollowed out. The ring is about a centimeter (3/8 in) broad, and the hollowed-out portion is about 0.6 cm (1/4 in) deep in the middle. Any given cross-section of the piece is a rough oval, but with many dents and protrusions. The walls rise outward from the foot ring to the rim; overall the walls rise outward in a straightish line to about half the vertical distance and then flare outward slightly before rising, again in a straightish line, to the rim. This creates a ledge about halfway up the sides, a convenient place for the fingers when holding the cup. On the long sides of the cup, the walls are rolled inward somewhat. On the short ends, the walls slope outward more. The rim is beveled. Along the long front and back sides, it slopes inward toward the interior; along the ends, it slopes outward. Because of this, it would be better to drink from one of the ends rather than a side. The shape of the interior mirrors that of the exterior. The joins between the ribbons of clay are pronounced on the exterior but were flattened and smoothed on the interior. The surface of this is quite pitted, with many small bumps. Because the entire surface of the interior was glazed, its surface is smoother than that of the exterior, but it is still quite bumpy and rough. 

The artist’s sigil, a long line with a short bar at the top with two tear-drop indents near the bottom end was incised into the side of the cup. 

This was glazed first with a thin gray ash glaze covering all of the interior and the top two-three centimeters (inch) of the exterior walls. Some of this glaze dripped down on the exterior to form thicker beads. At places where this glaze is thin, the clay took on a reddish hi-iro hue, visible through the glaze. A heavy, iron-rich glaze was used on one of the long sides of the interior and both long sides of the exterior. In all these cases, this glaze was applied at the top and allowed to run down the sides to form a rough triangle of darker color. The edges of these triangles and the area at the bottom of the interior where this glaze pooled are black in color. On the interior, a drip of glaze ran along the beveled edge of the rim and then spilled down one of the short ends of the interior. Those portions of the exterior not covered by glazes exhibit hi-iro  colors in the red-coral range. The few horizontal surfaces have melted ash deposits that vitrified to form the green glass-like deposits known as bidoro. The foot ring and the area within have heavy deposits of a very glossy, thick black glazing.  The embedded stone chips show up as white spots; there are also many small, white ash deposits (shiseki) on both the interior and the exterior. A complex mixture of applied glazes and kiln effects. 

This came in a wooden box, inscribed by Murakoshi in his distinctive calligraphy, in two lines:  茶碗 / たくま chawan / takuma  (teabowl / Takuma). As is his habit, the inscription begins on the lid and continues on the front side, with the final stroke of the character 碗 extending onto the right-hand side of the box. The top is stamped in red with a seal with Murakoshi’s studio name: へうげも屋  (Hyōgemono-ya, “Jocular Fellow Studio”); interestingly he uses the kyūkanazukai, or old kana usage, to write hyō. Hyōgemono is also the name of a popular manga character. On the side of the box is another seal stamped in red, giving Takuma in characters, 琢磨. Included in the box were a brown wrapping cloth and a printed leaflet from Murakoshi. 

Purchased from the Kura Monzen Gallery in Kyoto in October 2024, who received it directly from the potter in summer 2024. This was part of an exhibit entitled Shōka 昇華  (“sublime”), or Modern Masters in English, a show of fifteen currently active potters (invoice and shipping and customs documents).