Karatsu Artisan Bowl with High Sides

High-rimmed Karatsu artisan bowl: a speckled grey glazed bowl handmade in Karatsu by Yamashita-san, the surfer potter. An everyday artisan bowl from Japan.

Features

• Type: artisanal matcha bowl, high-rimmed
• Artisan: Yamashita-san, potter in Karatsu (Japan), over 30 years of experience
• Finish: speckled grey glaze
• Use: everyday
• Production: handmade

In English: Handmade high-rimmed Karatsu matcha bowl with speckled grey glaze by potter-surfer Yamashita-san. An everyday artisan bowl from Japan.

Yamashita-san's philosophy

click the play button to watch Yamashita-san's interview (2min17)

Yamashita-san discovered and learned pottery thanks to his father-in-law, a researcher at a ceramics research institute.

He has spent more than 30 years perfecting his craft.

When he makes his pottery, he empties his mind and focuses on his work. He says he thinks of nothing at all.

He loves seeing his creations used in everyday life, and he considers his pottery everyday objects. He does his utmost to keep his prices affordable, with the sole aim of having his bowls used in our daily lives.

Although Yamashita-san's bowls are reasonably priced, they are all handmade by himself, using the traditional clay and glaze of the region.

I was won over by his philosophy, and I am very proud to have him among our partner artisans.

above, me posing with Yamashita-san during our 2nd meeting in May 2019

Demonstration: making a matcha tea bowl

In this video, Yamashita-san shows us how he uses his fresh clay to shape a matcha bowl with his hands.

click the play button to watch the video (4min)

Then he shows us in detail all the steps of the process, from clay to the finished bowl.

click the play button to watch the video (5min)

• he digs up clay near his workshop and cleans it by diluting it in water to remove pebbles and impurities, then lets it dry
• kneading: Yamashita-san kneads the clay to work the air bubbles out and make it homogeneous.
• throwing on the potter's wheel
• trimming: he lets the bowl dry for a day, then turns it over and shapes the foot of the bowl
• first firing: he fires the bowl at 800ºC for about 8 hours. The bowl shrinks by 20%.
• glazing: a mixture of crushed straw ash, charcoal and feldspar. Yamashita-san dips the pottery into the mixture.
• glaze firing: in Yamashita-san's kiln, this takes another 7 hours of firing at 1260ºC.

Yamashita-san makes the glaze for his pottery himself.

click the play button to watch the video (1min51)

For the final step, there are two ways to fire the glaze:

• oxidation firing: oxygen is allowed to enter the kiln.
• reduction firing: no oxygen is allowed into the kiln, and the flames seek out the oxygen inside the glaze, changing its chemical properties and appearance.

the kiln temperature is 1260ºC during the glaze firing

History of Karatsu pottery

Karatsu is a port town located on the island of Kyushu, in the far south of Japan.

Thanks to its geographical location, it has been in contact with China and the Korean peninsula since ancient times. And it is thanks to this outside influence that Karatsu was the first region in Japan to make bowls with a glossy glaze.

Karatsu pottery (唐津焼, karatsu-yaki) became famous throughout Japan in a very short time.

At the end of the 16th century, Karatsu matcha tea bowls were recognized by the great tea masters as one of the three predominant bowl styles, along with Raku pottery (楽焼, raku-yaki) and Hagi pottery (萩焼, hagi-yaki).

When I asked Yamashita-san whether he intended to pass his art on to his children, he told me no, because his clay vein is exhausted.

He showed me this photo, telling me "I have enough to last until I retire, and after that it will be over":

the keys to Japanese aesthetics

As Yamashita-san explains to us, there is a large element of chance in his creations.

When he fires the glaze of his bowls, for example, the result can vary depending on where the bowl sits inside the kiln due to heat variations.

Of course, he cannot control the way the glaze flows either.

It is a deliberate choice to keep this element of the unexpected, and for me, this is what truly makes Japanese pottery so charming. Not everything is standardized like in industrial production.

The slight irregularities of each bowl give them their own distinct character and personality.

⚠️ Usage tips from Yamashita-san:

• Before first use, I recommend soaking your bowl in water with 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour for 5 hours. The starch in the flour will act as an extra sealant to protect your bowl.
• The appearance of your bowl will evolve over time: it will develop fine cracks and a patina. Take good care of it and it will become even more beautiful and unique.

the final result

This bowl, grey with green highlights, with a glossy speckled glaze, is elegant and minimalist.

I love the details: the foot, which is unglazed, is rough and earth-colored.

My favorite little detail is the center of the bowl's base: Yamashita-san has drawn a whirlpool shape that gathers the suspended matcha tea and offers a final sip that is slightly more concentrated and truly delightful.

I hope you enjoy savoring your daily matcha in this Karatsu artisan bowl.

I am very happy and proud to present this bowl by Yamashita-san, which is very affordable for craftsmanship of this quality.

This is a new shape with high rims, very practical for whisking your matcha. The colors vary slightly from one batch to the next, so if you like this bowl and want to make it yours, I recommend ordering it now as we only have a few pieces left in this series.

On behalf of Yamashita-san and myself, we wish you a wonderful tasting!

Differences between Japanese and Western pottery

First of all, the material is different: while we use a blend of earths (clay, marl, silica), most Japanese potters use only clay.

Since we hold bowls in our hands to admire them before bringing them to our lips to enjoy matcha tea, great attention is paid to the texture of the bowl and how it transmits heat.

Another major difference is that in the West, we often use a set of identical cups, whereas in Japan people often own many different cups. Originally, in the tea ceremony, it was the host's responsibility to choose a selection of cups that go well together to delight their guests.

Finally, the Japanese find beauty in the distortions and "accidental" irregularities of the pottery and its glaze. Wear rounds off the edges of bowls, making them even more beautiful. This is the concept of wabi-sabi.

Preparing matcha tea

When preparing matcha tea, leave most of the bowl empty to admire the color of the matcha and the highlights of the glaze. Take note of the texture and sheen of the matcha.

The bottom of the bowl is flat and its capacity is particularly well suited to preparing 80-100mL.