A message regarding the "Twelve Karatsu Ware Exhibition - Tableware for Tea Ceremony Meals -"

This will be the fourth time that the Karatsu ware artist exhibition is being held at the Kakiden Gallery.

This year's theme is "Tableware for Tea Ceremony Meals." This theme was decided for the exhibition held two years ago.

Karatsu ware is very popular, and thanks to the efforts of young artists, it seems to be doing well. However, we decided on this theme because we don't want to rest on our laurels, but rather aim for even greater heights.

Last year, I had the opportunity to see an antique Karatsu ware mukozuke (small dish) at a collector's home. It was a delicate piece with a thin body.

I had seen this style of work in fragments of pottery, but seeing the actual pieces made me realize that Karatsu ware is not just one style, but rather a wide range of pieces, from simple everyday tableware to delicate utensils for tea ceremonies.

Among Japanese pottery, Karatsu ware stands out from the rest. This is because, just as Korean pottery aimed to be like porcelain, the sandstone used as raw material for Karatsu ware is very similar to porcelain clay.

While Karatsu ware uses more than one type of clay, I believe the true charm of Momoyama Karatsu lies in the clay itself.

Because the clay is similar to the white porcelain ore used in Korea, I believe the surface is fired to a high degree of density, and the more you use it, the more character it develops.

The charm of Karatsu ware lies in the sincere engagement with the clay, the raw material. This attitude is still carried on by contemporary Karatsu ware artists.

Sakurei Okamoto has incorporated a technique of creating molds from Oribe ware, which is unprecedented in Karatsu ware, resulting in sharp and distinctive pieces.<朝鮮唐津四方手付鉢>The piece has been put up for sale. It is a four-legged bowl with white straw ash glaze and black glaze applied to the left and right sides, and a strong bamboo joint handle. It was born from a free-thinking approach that was reached after studying the fundamentals of old Karatsu ware.

Yasumoto Kajiwara has previously been known for his "Kajiwara Karatsu" ware, which is fired using Karatsu sandstone, but this time he has tried using Tenmoku glaze for the first time.<天目釉向付>The raw material for this product is also sandstone from Karatsu. Mr. Kajiwara is challenging new possibilities using natural materials from Karatsu.

Kiyomi Kawakami says, "If we consider the beauty of Mino ware to be like sunlight, then the beauty of Joseon dynasty pottery must be like moonlight. Karatsu ware is a fusion of these two beauties." This statement is very insightful.<井戸茶碗>This tea bowl truly embodies the fusion of yin and yang, gentleness and strength.

Mr. Masahiro Takehana<斑唐津茶碗>His work is characterized by its fine wood grain, earthy texture, and soft glaze. Mr. Takehana aims for an unpretentious, antique style, stripping away all artificiality from his pieces and striving to make them appear as natural as possible.

Sajiro Tanaka has built kilns in two countries, the Yamase kiln in Karatsu and the Kameyama kiln in Ulsan on the Korean Peninsula, and has accumulated over 810 firings to date.<絵唐津盃><玄黄盃><雲彩盃>These three works were born from that struggle with fire, and originated from a state of mind where "the past and present are one."

Mr. Nakazato Taiki<唐津南蛮割山椒向附>This is a mukozuke (small dish for serving food) made to the dimensions of the oshiki (small tray) used in tea ceremony meals. The Nanban style began when his father, Takashi, traveled to Tanegashima and tried his hand at unglazed stoneware. As Takashi was known as a gourmet, Taiki's mukozuke are vessels that beautifully showcase the food served on them.

The 14th generation Nakazato Tarouemon<斑唐津向付>This is a beautiful, split-pepper-shaped mukozuke (small dish) with a white glaze. It's a little small for a tea ceremony meal, but it's a very charming mukozuke. It embodies the desire to "create what I believe in and want to make, in this land of Karatsu, using Karatsu materials."

Mr. Tsuchihira Fujinoki<絵唐津食籠>This is a lidded container made using a mold. It seems that Mr. Fujinoki acquired this technique in Mino. The iron-rich shale gives it a warm, earthy feel, and the feldspar glaze is applied with a ladle, creating a slight plum blossom-like texture.

Kentaro Murayama's<黄唐津茶碗>This piece beautifully showcases the texture of the earthenware, and is well-fired at around 1280 degrees Celsius. Mr. Murayama says he likes the yellowish-brown color of this clay, which contains a lot of iron. It's a flat tea bowl that would look great against the green of tea.

Mr. Yasunaga Raizan created a new tea<翠明茶>It was given that name. It is made using clay similar to Korean porcelain clay and fired at 1300 degrees Celsius. A pale green color develops, with a slight flow of pale yellow glaze, creating a gentle appearance.

Naoto Yano's<李朝堅手徳利>Using white porcelain sandstone, they challenged the Joseon Dynasty, the origin of Old Karatsu ware, while<斑唐津ぐい吞>This piece uses coarse-grained Yoshinoya sandstone. In addition, works from a new kiln, which was converted from a multi-chamber type to a split-bamboo type kiln between last autumn and the end of last year, will also be exhibited.

Kai Yoshino was one of the first ceramic artists to attempt to recreate Momoyama Karatsu ware using sandstone.<本手絵唐津四方平向付>These pieces are also made in accordance with the fundamentals of old Karatsu ware. Although he passed away last November, a father-daughter exhibition of Yoshino Kai and Keiko's work will be held at the Kakiden Gallery from March 13th to 19th this year.

Koichi Mori (Art critic, Standing Director of the Japan Ceramic Society)