Tea ceremony utensils,
art equipped
with practical beauty.

The tea ceremony allows guests plenty of time to thoroughly appreciate tea utensils. To feel the touch and the weight of a tea caddy or tea bowl in the hands, or to gaze closely at the figure of a flower vase or water container. The tea utensils that the ceremony host prepares on any particular day are chosen in accordance with the season and the spirit of the times, and each conveys its own story. Like this, they play an important role in deepening the conversation between host and guests. The Miraku Kiln of Takatori ware strives to create tea utensils befitting such occasions—works of art that can be enjoyed by both host and guests, and that unite them in mind and spirit.

Tea caddy

The tea caddy is considered the most prestigious of all tea utensils. Even in catalogs of famous tea utensils, the tea caddy always takes pride of place. Typically, in the first session of a formal tea ceremony, a kaiseki meal (served on a tray in one or more courses) is served to the guests, after which there is a break. The climax of the ceremony comes in the goza (second session) with the serving of koicha (“thick tea”). Tea caddies are containers used to store this koicha.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori katatsuki (“shouldered”)
    tea caddy (black over yellow glaze)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    Katatsuki (“shouldered”) tea caddies are the most emblematic Takatori ware pieces. Here we see the traditional 1.5 mm-thin structure, aesthetically enhanced by the effect of pouring one glaze over another, an innovation that is characteristic of Miraku XV. The result is very striking.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori hisagokata (“gourd-shaped”)
    tea caddy with mimitsuki (“eared”)
    handles (kinkamon “golden crest” glaze)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    The kinkamon (“golden crest”) glaze was perfected through repeated research over three generations, starting with Miraku Kamei XIII. It is a glaze, derived from the traditional yellow glaze (oyu) of the Takatori tradition, expressing an extreme kirei-sabi elegance. The delicate structure of the “eared” handles is also outstanding.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori katatsuki (“shouldered”)
    tea caddy (white over yellow glaze)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    This highly ambitious and consummate work features a glazing design in the form of 八, the Japanese character for “8” along with a bold, visible area of pure clay. For this piece, Miraku Kamei XV took his creative inspiration from the “Nihongo,” a masterpiece of spearmaking craftsmanship connected with the Kuroda domain, considered to be one of the “Three Great Spears of Japan.”

Tea bowl

The tea bowl plays a central role in the tea ceremony. After copies of Chinese and Korean tea bowls became fashionable in Japan, potters started to produce Japanese-style tea bowls that reflected the spirit of Sengoku period warlords. Please enjoy the form and glazing aesthetics of Takatori ware, which draws on this Japanese tradition, as well as the lightness of its touch, made possible by its distinctively thin structure.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori kinkamon (“golden crest”)
    -glazed tea bowl

    This tenmoku (wide brim, narrow base) tea bowl makes use of the ceramic transformation of yellow glaze in the kiln. The fusion of the samurai aesthetic of wabi-sabi with courtly splendor results in a refined example of the kirei-sabi elegance favored by Enshu. The kinkamon (“golden crest”) glaze is a new glaze exclusive to the Miraku Kiln of the Takatori school.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori shippo (cloissoné) openwork tea bowl
    (black over yellow glaze)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    This technique, unique to thinly constructed Takatori ware stoneware, enables the kind of delicate openwork more often associated with porcelain. The design gives careful consideration to handling by keeping the weight comparable to an ordinary tea bowl, despite the double-layered construction.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori kyokko (“aurora”)
    -glazed shinogite (“ridged”)
    tea bowl (yellow, white, and black glazes)
    Hisaaki Kamei

    This typical work of Hisaaki features the profound kyokko (“aurora”) glaze, developed by exploring new creative ways of utilizing the classic, natural glazes of the Takatori ware tradition. The gradations of blue generated by the ridges call to mind an aurora in the night sky.

Water container

Water containers (mizusashi) are a given a prominent place and presence throughout tea ceremonies, to draw the attention of the guests. Takatori ware water containers have such a thin structure that even when filled with water they do not become excessively heavy.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori yellow-glazed water container
    with kudamimi (“pipe ear”)
    handles (black over yellow glaze)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    This work has the standard form of a Takatori water container and features kudamimi (“pipe ear”) handles favored by Kobori Enshu. In the typically detailed and delicate style of the Miraku Kiln, the handles are hollow. The vertical needle-like glaze line is very characteristic of Miraku Kamei XV.

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    Copy of Old Takatori
    water container (copper glaze)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    This work is a modern copy of a style from when the kiln was located in Uchigaso (Old Takatori). Although it embraces the distortion and underlying ideas of Oribe style, the remarkably thin clay gives it a modern edge, expressively enriched by thick glazing.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori multicolor-glazed water container
    (white, yellow, and black glazes)
    Hisaaki Kamei

    This work represents a new direction for Hisaaki. Instead of the traditional two glazes typically used in Takatori ware, he has combined three colors in a fashion he refers to as a “multicolor glaze.” The three glazes are applied separately (kakewake) using a ladle and then meticulously painted over with brushes. The resulting visual impact is strikingly fresh.

Flower vase

In a tranquil tea room, only flowers can evoke the transience and vibrant charm of life. Sen no Rikyu famously taught that flowers should be arranged as if in the wild. The basic style of arrangement, nageire (“throw in”), tries to take advantage of the natural forms of the available flowers. Takatori ware vases draw out the essential beauty of flowers through the use of natural glazes in copper, yellow, green-blue, black, and other hues.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori yellow-glazed hisagogata
    (“gourd-shaped”)
    flower vase (black over yellow glaze)

    Although this very playful work is shaped like a gourd (hisagogata), its upper part is shouldered (katatsuki). Tea utensils usually conform to a very limited range of forms, so this added touch of jocularity and interest reveals a glimpse of the spirit of Enshu.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori white-glazed shippo (cloissoné)
    openwork flower vase with kudamimi (“pipe ear”)
    handles Miraku Kamei XV

    This elegant flower vase of highly refined construction features the traditional technique of shippo (cloissoné) openwork, said to have originated in when the kiln was located in Nishi Sarayama and Higashi Sarayama. This technique is rarely used by other Takatori ware kilns.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori white-glazed flower vase
    with mimitsuki (“eared) handles
    Hisaaki Kamei

    For this work, Hisaaki employed a technique that he invented himself for producing a blue coloring. It works by adding iron to clay and then applying a white glaze. The unique quality of this piece is a blending of Japanese and western styles that serves to infuse the tradition with some refreshing novelty. The ear lobe-like projections below the sasamimi (“bamboo grass ear”) handles, for example, add an unmistakably western flavor.

Confectionery bowl

A confectionery bowl is typically selected to harmonize with other tea utensils and with the color and shape of the sweets being served, the season, and other factors. In the Takatori tradition, confectionery bowls are created in the particular shapes preferred by different tea ceremony schools. They are typically created without excessively intricate design, so as to maintain a distinctive air, even within an ambience of elegance.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori shippo (cloissoné)
    openwork confectionery bowl
    (separate white and yellow glazes)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    This confectionery bowl featuring kakewake (“separate glazing”) is in the Enshu style. The very thin construction so characteristic of Takatori aims at lightness, to make the bowl easy to handle. At the same time, it enables the gently curving shape of the bowl, resembling a Japanese quince flower.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori shippo (cloissoné)
    openwork confectionery bowl with handle
    (separate white and candy amber-colored glazes)
    Miraku Kamei XV

    This style of confectionery bowl, with handle, is a favorite of the Ura Senke school of tea ceremony. It is in fact a hallmark work of the Miraku Kiln that demonstrates a level of skill high enough to satisfy the most stringent demands of the various tea schools, as well as a solid knowledge of the standards and conventions of each school with regard to tea utensils.

  • The Art of Tea Ceremony Ceramics

    Takatori kyokko (“aurora”) -glazed confectionery bowl (white and black glazes) Hisaaki Kamei

    This work is imbued with an understated individuality. Its simple form blends perfectly with other tea utensils, and the use of the original kyokko glaze creates a beautiful, aurora flare-like finish.

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