DESIGN
Kokontozai: KASHIYUKA’s Shop of Japanese Arts and Crafts / PORCELAIN
April 8, 2018 | Design, Travel | photo_Keisuke Fukamizu stylist_Nobuko Ito hair &make_Masako Osuga editor_Masae Wako translation_Mika Yoshida & David G. Imber
Something that adds a touch of luxury to the everyday, that carries the air of Japan about it. A thing that beckons you to use it. Shopkeeper KASHIYUKA set out across Japan to find such handiworks. Her first venture is to Kanazawa, the birthplace of traditional Kutaniyaki ceramic, and the studio of ceramicist Kiyoko Morioka.
Let me introduce myself. I’m KASHIYUKA, founder of KASHIYUKA Marketplace, purveyor of Japanese handicrafts. For the past few years I’ve been drawn to tableware and utensils for everyday use, especially those made in Japan. Perhaps what attracts me to Japanese craftsmanship is the pleasure of knowing the place the work comes from, and the culture surrounding it. Through this series I hope I’ll come to learn more about crafts throughout Japan, and the culture and environment they represent.
The first item I found was a tea set, a craft item that can be enjoyed familiarly. Pure white, so fine as to be translucent, and pretty enough to make the heart flutter.
These pieces are by Ms. Kiyoko Morioka, an artisan versed in Kutaniyaki ceramic, which came into being during the Edo period, 1603-1868, in Ishikawa prefecture. I’d always taken for granted that Kutani ware was defined by its rather flamboyant coloration, but learned it was simply porcelain made in the old area once known as Kutani. Coloration aside, it was the grey earth collected in that area that, when fired, defined what came to be known as Kutaniyaki. Ms. Morioka’s white porcelain, known as “translucent porcelain clay” and often used for lampshades, comes from this Kutani soil.
These pieces are by Ms. Kiyoko Morioka, an artisan versed in Kutaniyaki ceramic, which came into being during the Edo period, 1603-1868, in Ishikawa prefecture. I’d always taken for granted that Kutani ware was defined by its rather flamboyant coloration, but learned it was simply porcelain made in the old area once known as Kutani. Coloration aside, it was the grey earth collected in that area that, when fired, defined what came to be known as Kutaniyaki. Ms. Morioka’s white porcelain, known as “translucent porcelain clay” and often used for lampshades, comes from this Kutani soil.
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