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Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:59 pm

Rebuilding my collection. The first 3 have just arrived

Wow so beautiful. More info please, maker size etc. Hojo, Artistic Nippon or?
That mogake is stunning, look forward to hearing how you like using it.
And the banko is a stunner too, gorgeous.
An awesome way to rebuild a collection in 3.

Victoria wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:01 pm

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:59 pm

Rebuilding my collection. The first 3 have just arrived

Wow so beautiful. More info please, maker size etc. Hojo, Artistic Nippon or?
That mogake is stunning, look forward to hearing how you like using it.
And the banko is a stunner too, gorgeous.
An awesome way to rebuild a collection in 3.

Thank you. I love that pot. The maganese was kinda iffy at first to me. But quick Google says that Mn-Oxide is insoluble in water. A quick taste test last suggests that the Banko brews a better Long Jing than this pot. But I need to do more brewing. I'm still waiting for my porcelain Gaiwan to do a proper comparison. I will find a tea to pair with this one. I don't want to waste it as a mere ornament.

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:55 pm

Victoria wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:01 pm

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:59 pm

Rebuilding my collection. The first 3 have just arrived

Wow so beautiful. More info please, maker size etc. Hojo, Artistic Nippon or?
That mogake is stunning, look forward to hearing how you like using it.
And the banko is a stunner too, gorgeous.
An awesome way to rebuild a collection in 3.

Thank you. I love that pot. The maganese was kinda iffy at first to me. But quick Google says that Mn-Oxide is insoluble in water. A quick taste test last suggests that the Banko brews a better Long Jing than this pot. But I need to do more brewing. I'm still waiting for my porcelain Gaiwan to do a proper comparison. I will find a tea to pair with this one. I don't want to waste it as a mere ornament.

I would just start using them with different teas, to see how they feel. I wouldn’t use the mogake one with darker teas though. Banko can take almost anything.

Victoria wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:08 pm

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:55 pm

Victoria wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:01 pm

Wow so beautiful. More info please, maker size etc. Hojo, Artistic Nippon or?
That mogake is stunning, look forward to hearing how you like using it.
And the banko is a stunner too, gorgeous.
An awesome way to rebuild a collection in 3.

Thank you. I love that pot. The maganese was kinda iffy at first to me. But quick Google says that Mn-Oxide is insoluble in water. A quick taste test last suggests that the Banko brews a better Long Jing than this pot. But I need to do more brewing. I'm still waiting for my porcelain Gaiwan to do a proper comparison. I will find a tea to pair with this one. I don't want to waste it as a mere ornament.

I would just start using them with different teas, to see how they feel. I wouldn’t use the mogake one with darker teas though. Banko can take almost anything.

thank you for the suggestion. I'm curious as to why you think darker teas wouldn't be suitable. Cause that's what I'm going to brew next in this pot , a few black teas I just got from Hojo.

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:59 pm

Rebuilding my collection. The first 3 have just arrived . From left to right:

Teatog, i must congratulate you on your photoshopping -- great kyusu presentation. i think i saw you do that in at least one other post where you were showing off your konishi against a dark bg. i laughed when i saw it, but it's awesome

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:34 pm

thank you for the suggestion. I'm curious as to why you think darker teas wouldn't be suitable. Cause that's what I'm going to brew next in this pot , a few black teas I just got from Hojo.

The clay is porous will absorb tannins in black tea.
p.s. if pots haven’t been used yet you might soak them for a while before steeping tea. They will be thirsty, soaking everything up.

pedant wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:21 pm

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:59 pm

Rebuilding my collection. The first 3 have just arrived . From left to right:

Teatog, i must congratulate you on your photoshopping -- great kyusu presentation. i think i saw you do that in at least one other post where you were showing off your konishi against a dark bg. i laughed when i saw it, but it's awesome

Hahaha, thank you! It's my take on how to show off different facets of a piece of art in one picture. It's a bit more time consuming, but I enjoy doing these composites, especially when I can sip my favorite tea while working on the picture

Victoria wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 9:16 pm

Teatog wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:34 pm

thank you for the suggestion. I'm curious as to why you think darker teas wouldn't be suitable. Cause that's what I'm going to brew next in this pot , a few black teas I just got from Hojo.

The clay is porous will absorb tannins in black tea.
p.s. if pots haven’t been used yet you might soak them for a while before steeping tea. They will be thirsty, soaking everything up.

Gotcha. For these porous teapots, I find that I can "reset" the pot by soaking the inner pot with hot water and leave it in the pot for a few hours. Then a hot water wash on the outside of the pot to remove stuff that got absorbed by the pot. I used this technique to reset my old "sweaty" Shigaraki a few times.

Hello again tea folk! So I have only been drinking PG Tips from my Brown Betty these days...outside of coffee on the go for work, of course.

However, Taisuke Shiraiwa, a potter who hails from Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, reached out to me just a few weeks back about a teapot that had become available. Ever since I saw a video of his talent at work about a year back, I've been interested in picking up a piece by him. The few of those in this shape were all gone, so I had been waiting patiently since then.

This kyusu was recently displayed as part of an exhibition in Tokyo. So when presented with the opportunity to make it my own, how could I refuse?

As this was my first piece of teaware purchased directly from a potter, I decided to pick up a collection of his works. It was well worth the wait! And with that, I guess I'm back.

My latest acquisition: Oxidation Sado Akitsu Mumyoi Kyusu by Watanabe Tozo. Volume: 140mL. I had two Watanabe pots before and both were plagued with poor pourability. This one is an improvement, but still slower than the rest of my pots. I widened the filter holes a bit. Average full pot pour time is now 6-8 seconds. The Akitsu clay is phenomenal. My first comparison with Yunnan Ancient Black, this teapot was able to coax out all the body subtleties of the tea with strong lingering aftertaste than a porcelain chawan, a Banko and Kobiwako clay pot could. Both the Banko and Kobiwako should have more emphasis on the aftertaste, but their brews were lacking next to what I got from the Akitsu. As expected, since this one is denser than the Kobiwako, it imparts less clay taste to water in its fresh taste. Overall, I'm sold on this new clay addition from Hojo. I'm waiting for his next batch of Iga clay to compare against this clay.

Had to get another kyusu in addition to one from above, which was lonely all on its own.

Got this new beauty on the right for Xmas! Both teapots were made by Taisuke Shiraiwa. These two were fired together in the same kiln, at the same time.

Taisuke explained that when his works are baked, he increases or decreases the amount of oxygen. This changes "the condition" in the kiln, causing instability in oxygen levels throughout. This is called "窯変 (Yo-hen)" in Japanese. So even if works are made in the same kiln using the same clay, some turn out red, others black or brown, while another piece may have both red and black colors.

I believe the tall pot on the left was caused by what is known as "reduction", or the complete absence of oxygen. It is not truly black in color. If you look closely, you can see what appears to be red clay slightly permeating from underneath.

I find it quite interesting how they can turn out so differently fired together. It really adds to the character of each pot.

Here are the results on my water-tasting experiment:
Pot on left ~200ml. 'Clayed' water tastes slightly subdued, more rounded. Slight, fleeting aftertaste. Ball filter, dedicating to fukamushi due to tall shape. ~18 second pour.

Pot on right ~225ml. The clay taste is more pronounced and slightly creamier from the water, resulting in a longer lasting aftertaste. Direct filter, dedicating to asamushi. ~13 second pour.

So, I see you are starting your teaware collection, again. Love it

Some striking pots there, with very distinct styles & shapes & colors: from the same potter and the same kiln? cool!

Today I enjoyed some Kanayamidori sencha from this Tokoname pot

Jo wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:18 pm

So, I see you are starting your teaware collection, again. Love it

Hey Mrs. Chip! I am all set for the time-being. Sticking to the one pot per tea type. Don't I always tell myself this.

debunix wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 28, 2017 1:31 am

Some striking pots there, with very distinct styles & shapes & colors: from the same potter and the same kiln? cool!

Today I enjoyed some Kanayamidori sencha from this Tokoname pot

Thank you debunix! Yes, Taisuke makes some beautiful, unique works. I am drawn to kyusu with accentuating shapes. In fact, these two particular pots were displayed together in an exhibition in Tokyo a couple months back. And yes, these were fired together within the same gas kiln. Interesting how they can turn out so differently.


Nice kyusu you have there. Love the leaf prints. Curious if these were put on pot before firing or placed on after. Who is the maker?

I love my kyusu, but I don't know anything about it! I picked it up at the outer market in Tsukiji this past fall. There are some identifying marks, but I haven't found them anywhere (I checked www.tokoname.or.jp/teapot/stamp but could have missed it).

Regardless of who made it, it's pretty nice in my opinion, and very good for making some tea!