Bizen Beer Mug

This is a brand new Bizen beer mug, fresh from the kiln, created by Takashi Soga, who challenges the beauty of antiquity by recreating the exact environment in which ancient Bizen pottery was fired. To replicate the style of the Old Bizen period, he avoids the use of modern materials like refractory bricks; the kiln's thermal efficiency defies all modern conventional wisdom, and as a result, it produces an exquisite clay texture that transcends modern aesthetics and approaches the quality of Old Bizen. The mellow scarlet hue is not the result of under-firing, but a natural coloration of the clay achieved through high-temperature vitrification, brilliantly reproducing the skin of the strong scarlet tones found in Old Bizen. The *hidasuki* (fire-cord) markings are dyed black in response to the intense firing, creating a magnificent finish reminiscent of the scenery seen on large Old Bizen bowls, where black *hidasuki* overlays a red background. Despite such a rigorous firing process, the mug has a remarkably smooth and soft texture; it fulfills the dream of enjoying beer in an Old Bizen vessel while making one almost succumb to the tactile pleasure of the pottery itself. Paper box
Diameter 8.0cm × 7.8cm × Height 11.7cm Takashi Soga was born in Tokyo in 1984. He apprenticed under Jun Isezaki in 2009 and built his own kiln in Kuku-i, Bizen City, in 2012. He became independent in 2013 and began his career as a ceramic artist.