{"product_id":"p7333","title":"Bizen Ware Free Cup","description":"These new Bizen free cups have just been removed from the kiln by Takashi Soga, who challenges the beauty of antiquity by recreating the same environment in which Old Bizen was fired.\u003cbr\u003e\nThis piece was fired in May 2024.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nTo replicate the kiln-firing style of the Old Bizen era, this piece was fired in a kiln made entirely of earth—avoiding the firebricks that did not exist at the time—where modern firing conventions do not apply.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe all-earth kiln acts as a single, massive piece of pottery itself, and as a result, it produces a superior texture that transcends modern aesthetics to approach that of Old Bizen.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThis time, the artist took on the challenge of an unprecedentedly long firing period of approximately 19 days, resulting in the rich, rust-red clay texture characteristic of Old Bizen, complemented by the exceptionally fine, matte *kase-goma* (ash glaze) that is Soga-sensei’s signature.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nCovering over 90% of the piece, this finely textured *kase-goma* gives the work a surprisingly rounded feel—so much so that it hardly seems like Bizen ware in the best sense of the word—creating a wonderful kiln transformation that makes you want to roll it in your palm forever.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe base clay color is a mysterious rust-red infused with orange; as it peels away like the dried bark of a tree to reveal the unique clay beneath, it achieves the cold, withered texture of Old Bizen that is only possible through an earth-built kiln.\n\nNo box\u003cbr\u003e\nDiameter 7.7cm x 7.3cm x Height 9.3cm\n\nTakashi Soga was born in Tokyo in 1984.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nHe studied under Jun Isezaki in 2009, and in 2012, he built an all-earth kiln—without the use of firebricks—in Kugu, Bizen City.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nHe became independent and began his career as a ceramic artist in 2013.","brand":"曽我 尭","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46618121502817,"sku":"7333","price":8800.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/9916\/8865\/files\/7333.jpg?v=1790232553","url":"https:\/\/www.tourakuen.jp\/en\/products\/p7333","provider":"川口陶楽苑","version":"1.0","type":"link"}