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Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:27 am
by OCTO
Anyone has any experience with this clay? Seems to be highly sought after and is down to a very limited stock due to the closure of the mine to make way for an airport.
Any sharing is well appreciated.
Cheers!
LeoFox wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 9:21 pm
The exemplar reference for sado island mumyoi should be the work of Miura Jozan (三浦常山).
Background from different sites (some overlapping info):
https://www.gyokudou.com/en/mumyoiyaki-en/
Mumyoi ware originated from Raku ware (a type of handshaped pottery fired at low temperatures) which Jinbei Ito made, using the Mumyoi clay produced in the tunnels of the Sado gold mine, in 1819. Later, in 1857, Tomitaro Ito began making Honyaki ware (a type of pottery fired at higher temperatures) using the Mumyoi clay.
Jozan Miura, the first generation of potters, strived to make the traditionally fragile Mumyoi ware as strong as the "orange red clay" and "purple clay" ware produced at the kilns in Yixing, China. He eventually succeeded in making the same type of high-fire pottery.
https://hojotea.com/item_e/mumyoi.htm
In 1819, a man named Ito Kanbei (伊藤甚平) started to use the by-product of gold mine to make Raku Ware (楽焼). In 1857, the pottery in Sado Island was further developed by Ito Tomitaro (伊藤富太郎). At that time, red clay was partly used. It was mixed with other clays to get a specific character of Raku Ware.
The red clay produced in Sado Island is called Mumyoi Yaki (無名異焼). A revolution in Mumyoi Yaki was made by the first generation of Miura Jozan (三浦常山). He studied the art of Yi Xing tea pot, and developed his own baking method using mumyoi red clay. There was only a handful of artists who specializes in Mumyoi Yaki, nevertheless, they have managed to achieve acclaim and recognition by obtaining two National Living Treasure (人间国宝) awards; the first award in the history of Mumyoi Yaki was given to Miura Koheiji ( 三浦小平二）, son of the 3rd generation of Miura Jozan, while the second award was given to Ito Sekisui (伊藤赤水).
https://japanese-ceramics.com/mumyoi-wa ... %E7%84%BC/
Afterward, Miura Jozan (1836-1903) realized that Mumyoi produced from the Sado Mines has a very similar nature to Yixing clay. He doubled his efforts to change the usual Mumyoi ware, which was quite fragile, into strong pottery similar to the pottery created from the Yixing kiln in China, and he completed a piece of strong, high-temperature Mumyoi pottery. Tea tools in Mumyoi ware became popular among people who like green tea because they made tea delicious like Chinese Yixing ware.
According to a record, the famous shogunate retainer, Katsu Kaishu bought tea tools from Miura Jozan.
Pics:
This was initially misidentified as jozan ii
viewtopic.php?p=12520#p12520
From marshaln who also misidentified it:
http://www.marshaln.com/2011/02/yamada-jozan/
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:04 am
by OCTO
Some reading I picked up from Hojo’s website.
Cheers!
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 5:48 pm
by Victoria
I enjoy using my two Shimizu Ken Nosaka pots with sencha and also lighter high mountain oolong like LiShan, DaYuLing and FuShouShan. One is with Namamigaki, the other without. Aesthetically I prefer the more textural surface without Namamigaki. I would agree with Hojo, there is a big similarity between this clay and Hongni which I use for lighter high mountain as well. The Shimizu Ken pots have slightly thicker walls than my shudei Tokoname pots, so retain heat nicely for high mountain oolong. I would say Nosaka and Hongni pots hold aroma, body and flavor of these teas well, bringing smooth sweet aspects to the forefront.
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:51 pm
by OCTO
I’m currently seasoning and prepping my Nosaka by Watanabe Tozo using ZhangPing ShuiXian.. so far the affinity between Nosaka clay and ZhangPing is pretty good. Very similar results to my ROC QingHuiDuan who brews an excellent cup of ZhangPing ShuiXian.
Victoria, your observations are spot on regarding Nosaka clay. I wonder if there is a difference in the clay used by S.Ken and W.Tozo.
Watanabe Tozo Mumyoi on the way....
Cheers!
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2018 7:37 pm
by Victoria
OCTO wrote: ↑Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:51 pm
I’m currently seasoning and prepping my Nosaka by Watanabe Tozo using ZhangPing ShuiXian.. so far the affinity between Nosaka clay and ZhangPing is pretty good. Very similar results to my ROC QingHuiDuan who brews an excellent cup of ZhangPing ShuiXian.
Victoria, your observations are spot on regarding Nosaka clay. I wonder if there is a difference in the clay used by S.Ken and W.Tozo.
Watanabe Tozo Mumyoi on the way....
Cheers!
Can't comment on Watanabe Tozo nosaka pot comparison, but it looks very similar to Shimizu Ken's nosaka. Here is a side by side with Emu's thinner shudei pot. Very different pots.
- Emu shudei Shimizu Ken nosaka L1010109_.jpg (573.69 KiB) Viewed 10527 times
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 11:28 am
by OCTO
This baby just arrived... gonna get it prepped for testing and comparison.
Stay tuned....
Cheers!
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 3:32 am
by pedant
is that pot by watanabe tozo? the lid doesn't look like his style, but everything else does.
OCTO wrote: ↑Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:51 pm
I wonder if there is a difference in the clay used by S.Ken and W.Tozo.
these guys collected their clays from their own spots and also processed them themselves. their clays are different in appearance and feel. performance is similar but probably not identical. even clays with the same names are not the same (shimizu's mumyoi clay is different than watanabe's akitsu mumyoi).
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 4:47 am
by OCTO
pedant wrote: ↑Sat Sep 08, 2018 3:32 am
is that pot by watanabe tozo? the lid doesn't look like his style, but everything else does.
Hi...
In what way would the lid appear to be different in Tozo’s usual style?
Cheers!
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 5:10 am
by pedant
the lid's flatness and moreso its overhang. imo not his usual style. looks cool.
i have not been following hojo's offerings as much lately, but looking now, it's clear to me that tozo's style is evolving a bit and that he's experimenting.
for example, these ones look a bit different from his older stuff:
looks like he's playing around with yohen a bit more and is using different colors of clay (mixed) and maybe aggregate.
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 7:46 am
by OCTO
The pot I just received is bought off the hands of a collector and have been in his possession for over a decade. This is among the first batch of Mumyoi teapots made by Watanabe Tozo for Hojo.
Interesting to note the evolution of his workmanship and design.
Cheers!
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:27 pm
by OCTO
Update on Tea Pairing with Mumyoi by Tozo from Sado Island..
I’ve since tried the pot with a host of teas young and aged. The best pairing is still pointed towards fresh greens like LongJing and raw Puerh, both raw and aged. Also had an interesting round with a 20+ yearold ripe puerh. The clay elevates the aroma, fragrance and aftertaste of tea in general.
More to come....
Cheers!
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:48 pm
by Bok
OCTO wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:27 pm
Update on Tea Pairing with Mumyoi by Tozo from Sado Island..
I’ve since tried the pot with a host of teas young and aged. The best pairing is still pointed towards fresh greens like LongJing and raw Puerh, both raw and aged. Also had an interesting round with a 20+ yearold ripe puerh. The clay elevates the aroma, fragrance and aftertaste of tea in general.
More to come....
Cheers!
Sounds like it might be a good match for Gaoshan as well?
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 3:51 am
by OCTO
Bok wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:48 pm
Sounds like it might be a good match for Gaoshan as well?
Did a comparison with GaiWan as control and another 80s teapot known to have good results with green fresh TieGuanYin. The closest I have to GaoShan is my fresh TGY.
Results....
The Mumyoi is not as good as the 80s green clay. But it did smoothen the tea broth and heighten the aroma. Unfortunately the after taste doesn’t linger on in the throat as long as the GaiWan or 80s Green Clay .
Personally I still enjoy the Mumyoi best with aged raw puerh.
Cheers!!
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 4:17 am
by Bok
Beautiful pots! That green clay looks intriguing.
Re: Red Clay from the Gold Mines of Sado Island.
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:13 am
by OCTO
@swordofmytriumph
Pls feel free to share your findings and pairings of your Mumyoi and Nosaka pots here.
