- Type
- Setoguro
- Details
- A bowl for drinking matcha. Like a lake after the daylight has gone: waves line up across black water, and on the front the color of the lake bed shows through. Setoguro chawan.
- Materials
- Mogusa clay (rare clay)
- Size
- φ145mm
- Height
- 85 mm
- Weight
- 470g
- Texture
- The surface is strongly glossy, and the waves that run across it meet your fingers gently, so the hands find their place on their own. The brown areas have a slightly drier skin than the black. Its settled weight rests in both hands, and for its wide mouth it holds well. The foot ring is unglazed Mogusa clay, rough to the fingers like dry sand.
Features of this piece
A lake after the last of the daylight has gone. Across the black water, waves line up one behind another, and only their crests catch what light remains. The brown spreading over the middle of the front is where the black thins, like the lake bed showing through. Turn this Setoguro chawan and the same brown appears at both edges, between waves that have drifted in toward the shore.
The rim is thin and gently undulating, and only its very edge lights up as a thin white line. On one side there is a patch where the surface seems roughened by wind. Near the foot, the black glaze comes and goes like the outline of an inlet before it stops, leaving a broad band of bare clay beneath.
Inside, the bowl is black throughout, and the light seems to move on it like the surface of water. Whisk matcha here and the green spreads as if floating on dark water. The wide, low form suits usucha in summer, and its settled weight in both hands keeps the bowl steady whether you are whisking or drinking. For the length of one bowl of tea, you hold a lake at nightfall in your hands.
Expected to ship within 10 business days from the date of order
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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
