Japanese Clays and Techniques

User avatar
Baisao
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 5:17 pm
Location: ATX

Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:28 am

@Yoroko - best wishes!

He doesn’t use shudei AFAIK for any of his pieces. I suspect the clay used in his teapots may be sourced locally from around Lake Biwa as it looks unlike anything I’ve seen from other Japanese potters. It has an unrefined look to it that is obviously not intentionally part of a wabi-sabi aesthetic.

The clay for the kettle is a porous, white clay that can take very high temperatures. If you look him up on Instagram by his kanji you’ll see that he uses the kettle over very high heat.
faj
Posts: 710
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:45 am
Location: Quebec

Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:07 am

Yoroko wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:19 am
Balthazar I'm also downsizing. For every thing that comes in one has to go. Yes, this is going to be a "fun" one to get hold of :lol:
Well, you might want to try posting in the tea swap section :D . Many of us are not downsizing and, to be frank, out of those that claim to be, I am not sure how many actually achieve the intended result... ;)
User avatar
Darbotek
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2020 5:25 pm
Location: East Texas

Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:28 pm

faj wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:07 am
to be frank, out of those that claim to be, I am not sure how many actually achieve the intended result... ;)
I feel personally attacked lol

What kanji search terms should I be using for a clay kettle? I found a few on the wikipedia entry for senchado, but they seem to be dead ends on my usual hunting grounds.
faj
Posts: 710
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:45 am
Location: Quebec

Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:39 pm

Darbotek wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:28 pm
faj wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:07 am
to be frank, out of those that claim to be, I am not sure how many actually achieve the intended result... ;)
I feel personally attacked lol
Well, if that motivates you to put on sales things I would then be glad to purchase, that would make it a friendly attack, wouldn't it? :mrgreen:
User avatar
Baisao
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 5:17 pm
Location: ATX

Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:45 pm

Darbotek wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:28 pm
What kanji search terms should I be using for a clay kettle? I found a few on the wikipedia entry for senchado, but they seem to be dead ends on my usual hunting grounds.
急須 - or - 京燒
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:13 pm

Baisao wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:28 am
Yoroko - best wishes!

He doesn’t use shudei AFAIK for any of his pieces. I suspect the clay used in his teapots may be sourced locally from around Lake Biwa as it looks unlike anything I’ve seen from other Japanese potters. It has an unrefined look to it that is obviously not intentionally part of a wabi-sabi aesthetic.

The clay for the kettle is a porous, white clay that can take very high temperatures. If you look him up on Instagram by his kanji you’ll see that he uses the kettle over very high heat.
Looks like it could be a type of unrefined porcelain with a special glaze?

For those asking for links;
Takashi Ichikawa 市川孝
White porcelain 白磁
A bowl he made using porcelain https://www.tokinokumo.com/product-page/市川孝-白磁大深鉢
A link to some of Takashi Ichikawa work https://www.jcrafts.com/eg/shop/special ... kinokumo06
Instagram page takashi_ichikawa1212 市川 孝 https://www.instagram.com/takashi_ichik ... 8dnar13rpz
User avatar
Baisao
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 5:17 pm
Location: ATX

Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:31 pm

Victoria wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:13 pm
Baisao wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:28 am
Yoroko - best wishes!

He doesn’t use shudei AFAIK for any of his pieces. I suspect the clay used in his teapots may be sourced locally from around Lake Biwa as it looks unlike anything I’ve seen from other Japanese potters. It has an unrefined look to it that is obviously not intentionally part of a wabi-sabi aesthetic.

The clay for the kettle is a porous, white clay that can take very high temperatures. If you look him up on Instagram by his kanji you’ll see that he uses the kettle over very high heat.
Looks like it could be a type of unrefined porcelain with a special glaze?

For those asking for links;
Takashi Ichikawa 市川孝
White porcelain 白磁
A bowl he made using porcelain https://www.tokinokumo.com/product-page/市川孝-白磁大深鉢
A link to some of Takashi Ichikawa work https://www.jcrafts.com/eg/shop/special ... kinokumo06
Instagram page takashi_ichikawa1212 市川 孝 https://www.instagram.com/takashi_ichik ... 8dnar13rpz
If anyone is comparing, the white clay in the above links is different from what he uses for his kettles. The porous white clay does probably have a lot of kaolin as you suggest. It is significantly more porous than the items in the links (I own some items made from that clay and they are more dense and often have a shiny, clear glaze).

My guess is that the clay he choses for the kettles is for heat stability and the matte, porous glaze of the kettles is what makes the change in water texture & flavor. The glaze of the kettles has a semi-transparent look, like alabaster, and is a bit thick like cake icing. The kettle is light for its size owing to how porous the construction is.

The clay of the teapots is altogether different: unrefined, muddy brown, and also porous.
User avatar
Yoroko
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:52 am
Location: Lipizzaner Capital (VIE), EU

Thu Mar 11, 2021 4:16 am

faj wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:07 am
Yoroko wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:19 am
Balthazar I'm also downsizing. For every thing that comes in one has to go. Yes, this is going to be a "fun" one to get hold of :lol:
Well, you might want to try posting in the tea swap section :D . Many of us are not downsizing and, to be frank, out of those that claim to be, I am not sure how many actually achieve the intended result... ;)
Would be a pleasure to use the swap section, but I live in Europe (customs, shipping EU to US, import-VAT). Two weeks ago a reduction fired Kyusu (it was to much glazed, because of mixing to much iron-powder to the clay-mixture and - I guess - therefore also burned to hot) was going to a friend in exchange for tea (of course); I was nor holding back the reasons why the Kyusu had to leave – or I use a local selling site. But for the expensive things I keep it in mind.

But I'm curious how long I can keep it up. So far I've only given away "some Volkswagen" and "none of my Rolls-Royce" ;)
Baisao wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:28 am
Yoroko - best wishes!

He doesn’t use shudei AFAIK for any of his pieces. I suspect the clay used in his teapots may be sourced locally from around Lake Biwa as it looks unlike anything I’ve seen from other Japanese potters. It has an unrefined look to it that is obviously not intentionally part of a wabi-sabi aesthetic.

The clay for the kettle is a porous, white clay that can take very high temperatures. If you look him up on Instagram by his kanji you’ll see that he uses the kettle over very high heat.
I've read that he researches a lot and therefore it makes sense to use a different clay-composition for a heat resistant kettle.
I've found one now on a Japanese site, but it costs $ 12k; I'm checking now if they don't mean Yen. Yen would be very fine, but $, especially US would be an dead end.

And you mention instagram. Victoria postet the link :D
Victoria wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:13 pm
Baisao wrote:
Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:28 am
Yoroko - best wishes!

He doesn’t use shudei AFAIK for any of his pieces. I suspect the clay used in his teapots may be sourced locally from around Lake Biwa as it looks unlike anything I’ve seen from other Japanese potters. It has an unrefined look to it that is obviously not intentionally part of a wabi-sabi aesthetic.

The clay for the kettle is a porous, white clay that can take very high temperatures. If you look him up on Instagram by his kanji you’ll see that he uses the kettle over very high heat.
Looks like it could be a type of unrefined porcelain with a special glaze?

For those asking for links;
Takashi Ichikawa 市川孝
White porcelain 白磁
A bowl he made using porcelain https://www.tokinokumo.com/product-page/市川孝-白磁大深鉢
A link to some of Takashi Ichikawa work https://www.jcrafts.com/eg/shop/special ... kinokumo06
Instagram page takashi_ichikawa1212 市川 孝 https://www.instagram.com/takashi_ichik ... 8dnar13rpz
Thanks for the links and the keywords also in Japanese! The first 2 I've found already, but thank you so much for the instagram link :D !!
User avatar
wave_code
Posts: 575
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:10 pm
Location: Germany

Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:29 am

you could also maybe try contacting Leaf Mania. I'm pretty positive they have shown his work there, so they might be able to look into getting one for you. I haven't bought from them yet, but I have contacted them about a couple of pieces and the communication in English was good and they will ship to Europe.
Last edited by Victoria on Tue Mar 30, 2021 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Mod edit: added link
User avatar
Yoroko
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:52 am
Location: Lipizzaner Capital (VIE), EU

Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:53 pm

@wave_code Thank you very, very much! :D They have also very nice rustic teacups; I like the EYI2028; but out of stock - great advice :) !
User avatar
LeoFox
Posts: 1777
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:01 pm
Location: Washington DC

Fri Apr 02, 2021 11:48 pm

@pedant

https://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php ... cts_id=993

Sasaoka Hôzan was the daughter of the banko-yaki potter Shunzan, famous for his teapots made using the “tebineri” technique, that is, hand-shaped directly, without the use of a potter’s wheel. Hôzan learned and perpetuated this technique, which is typical of banko-yaki, but has now virtually disappeared.
Tebineri teapots, especially the lids, are not as precise as teapots made on a wheel, but their very individual shapes and surfaces are what make them charming.
A unique piece.
Another technique to add (tebineri)?

Maybe this one is not the most elegant example but I kind of like these rough hewn looks.


Another example:

https://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php ... cts_id=873
Last edited by LeoFox on Sun Apr 04, 2021 11:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
Baisao
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 5:17 pm
Location: ATX

Fri Apr 02, 2021 11:52 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 11:48 pm
pedant

https://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php ... cts_id=993

Another technique to add?
Or to forget about, hahahaha!
User avatar
Yoroko
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:52 am
Location: Lipizzaner Capital (VIE), EU

Sun Apr 04, 2021 11:12 am

Baisao wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 11:52 pm
LeoFox wrote:
Fri Apr 02, 2021 11:48 pm
pedant

https://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php ... cts_id=993

Another technique to add?
Or to forget about, hahahaha!
Yeap :lol:

One more to add: :mrgreen: :roll:
User avatar
TeaTotaling
Posts: 519
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:08 pm
Location: Ohio

Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:00 pm

Any recommendations for Japanese clays that pair well with Gyokuro? Or, maybe a potter who's blend/clay might be an ideal fit?
User avatar
LeoFox
Posts: 1777
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:01 pm
Location: Washington DC

Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:09 pm

TeaTotaling wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:00 pm
Any recommendations for Japanese clays that pair well with Gyokuro? Or, maybe a potter who's blend/clay might be an ideal fit?
I heard hokujo is a big gyokuro drinker
Post Reply