Artisan Matcha Bowl from Karatsu

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 been perfecting his art for more than 30 years now.

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 pottery as everyday objects. He does his best to keep his prices affordable for the sole purpose 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 that he is part of our partner artisans.

above, I am 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)

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

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

• he extracts 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 release air bubbles 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 ground straw ash, charcoal and feldspar. Yamashita-san dips the pottery into the mixture.
• glaze firing: in Yamashita-san's kiln, this requires another 7 hours of firing at 1260ºC.

In the image below you can see the very dark mixture of ashes and stone, which will form the bowl's glaze and turns white when fired:

It is Yamashita-san who 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 draw out the oxygen present inside the glaze, changing its chemical properties and its appearance.

the kiln temperature is 1260ºC during the glaze firing

The 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's matcha tea bowls were recognized by the great tea masters as one of the three predominant bowl styles, alongside 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 deposit is exhausted.

He showed me this photo, telling me "I have enough to work with 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 the bowl's position inside the kiln because of heat variations.

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

It is a deliberate choice to keep this element of the unexpected, and for me, this is what gives Japanese pottery its true charm. Not everything is standardized like in industrial production.

Each bowl's slight irregularities give it a different 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 additional sealant to protect your bowl.
• The appearance of your bowl will evolve over time: it will develop crazing and a patina. Take good care of it and it will become even more beautiful and unique.

The final result

This off-white bowl, with a glossy and smooth 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 bottom: Yamashita-san has drawn a whirlpool shape, which collects the matcha tea in suspension and offers a final sip that is a little more concentrated and very pleasant.

I hope you will enjoy sipping your daily matcha from this bowl handmade by a Karatsu artisan.

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

The colors vary slightly from one batch to another, so if you like this bowl and want to make it yours, I recommend ordering it as we have a limited quantity of these bowls.

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

Differences between Japanese pottery and Western pottery

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

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

The other major difference is that in the West, we often use a set of identical cups, whereas in Japan people often have many different cups. Originally, in the tea ceremony, it is the host's responsibility to choose a selection of cups that go well together to please 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 the bowls and beautifies them. 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 against the pearl white during your own matcha tea ritual. Take note of the texture and sheen of the matcha.

This handcrafted bowl also has the characteristics of a summer bowl as its open rim allows heat to dissipate more easily.

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