- Type
- Setoguro
- Details
- A bowl for drinking matcha. Like cobblestones on a night after rain: the black face gives back the light in small points, and only the very edge of the rim shines white. Setoguro chawan.
- Materials
- Mogusa clay (rare clay)
- Size
- φ130mm
- Height
- 110 mm
- Weight
- About 500g
- Texture
- The front has a slight relief within its gloss, giving the fingertips something like the feel of dry stone. The back is smooth, and you notice the difference in skin as you shift your hold. Tall and with weight in the hand, it settles when wrapped in both hands. The foot ring is unglazed Mogusa clay, rough to the fingers.
Features of this piece
Cobblestones at night, after the rain has stopped. Across the front of this Setoguro chawan, the black catches the light in small points here and there, the way wet stones give back the lamps of a street. The closer you look, the more points of light there are; step back and they settle into a single black. Turn the bowl and the back changes to a smooth black, like one stone the rain has not yet dried on.
The rim is thin, and only its very edge lights up as a white line, as if the corner of a stone had caught the light. Near the foot, the black glaze runs onto the clay and stops, like rainwater held at a joint between stones. The foot is bare clay, the color of cobblestones once they have dried.
Inside, the bowl is black throughout, and light pools in a small circle at the bottom, like a single lamp reflected in the rainwater left in a hollow of the stones. The tall, cylindrical form belongs to the winter tea room; it has weight in the hand, and the bowl stays put even when you knead koicha. For the length of one bowl of tea, a night street after rain seems to dry slowly in your hands.
Expected to ship within 10 business days from the date of order
Choose options
Setoguro
One from one kiln
Setoguro is renowned for its captivating, deep black color. Achieving this beautiful black involves using a glaze made from Oniita (iron-rich clay) mixed with ash. The piece is fired at high temperatures and then removed from the kiln while still hot, followed by rapid cooling—a technique known as "hikidashi-guro." This process was employed over 450 years ago and produced the elusive "Setoguro" ware for only about 30 years in the world of tea. In the tea ceremony, Setoguro is revered for its unique aesthetic value within the Japanese principles of wabi-sabi. By extracting the piece from a kiln over 1,100 degrees Celsius and cooling it quickly, the piece transforms into a deep black while producing beautiful cracking sounds (kan-nyu) as it cools. Only up to three pieces can be fired in one kiln at a time, and achieving a satisfying black is extremely challenging. It is said that getting one satisfactory piece from a single kiln firing is considered a success.
Rest for the heart - Setoguro
In a busy life, finding time just for yourself is harder than it seems. That is why a pause to stop and whisk a bowl of tea can quietly settle the heart. The black of Setoguro is a black that draws the light deep inside. Held in the hands, its depth seems to still even the noise around you. Whisked matcha turns a clear, vivid green against this black, leaving a little space to breathe, for the eyes and for the heart. The glossy black rests softly in the hand, and its gentleness at the lips loosens whatever has been held tight. A Setoguro chawan that Kato Takaya brought into being one bowl at a time. For a quiet moment, a little apart from the rush of the day.
Suitable for
Care
Please wash by hand using a soft sponge or cloth when cleaning. Please refrain from using abrasive sponges for cleaning.
Please note
