An Irabo tea bowl created by Yaichi Kusube, a master of Japanese ceramics and recipient of the Order of Culture. Set down under natural light, the glaze shifts by the angle: a warm, sand-flecked brown across most of the body gives way, without warning, to a pale, almost lavender-grey pool inside the bowl, as if the kiln itself had decided where the colour should thin. Product Details Iraho — a name some trace to the Japanese word for "irritation," a nod to the deliberately gritty clay body that gives the surface a faint roughness against the palm — began as a Korean tea bowl style commissioned by Japanese tea masters from the Momoyama period onward, valued precisely for its unrefined, faintly imperfect character. This bowl follows that tradition closely: the body is thrown from a coarse, sand-flecked clay and left with visible tool marks from the wheel, still readable through the glaze on the exterior wall. The glaze itself was never meant to sit evenly — it pools into a pale, silvery-grey field on part of the interior floor, thins to a warm ochre-brown elsewhere, and breaks in places into small dark pockmarks known as ishihaze, or "stone-burst," where tiny grit embedded in the clay reacted in the kiln. Tea masters have long read this kind of irregularity as a virtue rather than a flaw. The foot is left largely unglazed, showing the pale clay body plainly, with a small seal impressed into the clay within the foot ring, reading a single character close to the artist's given name. The bowl comes down with its original tomobako, the lid inscribed in sumi ink with the piece's title, written in kanji for "Iraho Chawan." Artist Profile Yaichi Kusube (楠部彌一) — born 1897 in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, the fourth son of a family that ran a ceramics export business. His birth name, written 彌一, is the same name inscribed on this bowl and its box. Kusube trained at the ceramics school attached to the Kyoto Municipal Ceramics Testing Institute, graduating in 1915, and in 1918 joined a group of young Kyoto potters — including Isso Yagi — who formed the "Sekidosha" (Red Earth Society), a collective dedicated to treating pottery as fine art rather than trade craft. His early work was shown at the 1924 Paris International Exposition, where it received an award, and he was first accepted into the government-sponsored Teiten exhibition in 1927. A special-selection prize at the 1933 Teiten prompted him to change the way he wrote his given name, from 彌一 to 彌弌 — the form that appears in the signature on this bowl's tomobako, placing the piece within his long mature working period rather than his earliest years. Over the following decades Kusube became one of the most decorated ceramic artists of twentieth-century Japan. He served for many years as a judge for the Bunten and Nitten exhibitions, was elected a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1962, received the Mainichi Art Award and was designated a Person of Cultural Merit in 1972, and in 1978 was awarded the Order of Culture — one of the Japanese government's highest honors for lifetime artistic achievement. A solo exhibition of his work was held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the Louvre, Paris, in 1977. His pieces are held in the collections of the Imperial Household Agency, the State Guest House, and the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, among others. Kusube is best known for developing "Saien" (彩埏), a technique of building low-relief pattern under the glaze by repeatedly layering pigmented porcelain slip — a style he pursued alongside more traditional forms, including tea bowls such as this one that draw on classical Korean and Chinese precedents. He worked until his death in 1984 at the age of 87. The bowl's inscriptions place it within Kusube's mature working years, most likely sometime between the 1950s and the 1980s, though they don't allow the date to be narrowed to one specific decade. Condition & Specifications Condition: Excellent for age. No chips, cracks, or restoration. While this is a vintage piece, it shows no visible signs of use and retains its original appearance in outstanding condition. The surface's rough texture and small dark pockmarks (ishihaze) are an inherent feature of Iraho ware, not a flaw. The tomobako itself shows honest signs of age: its cord (himo) has faded/discoloured over time. This does not affect the bowl's condition. Diameter: 13.3 cm Height: 7.2 cm Weight: 287 g (bowl only) Weight with tomobako: 508 g Accessories: Original tomobako only (no shiori); cord shows age-related discolouration Base: impressed seal within the foot ring, reading a single character close to the artist's given name. tomobako lid inscribed in sumi ink with the work's title, meaning "Iraho Chawan" About Korean-Style Ware and Key Terms What is Iraho ware? Iraho is a style of tea bowl that originated in Korea during the Joseon dynasty and was specially commissioned by Japanese tea masters from the 16th century onward. Its rough, sandy clay and unevenly pooling glaze were prized for their honest, unpolished character rather than technical perfection — qualities Japanese potters have continued to reproduce and reinterpret ever since. Tomobako A tomobako is a wooden storage box made specifically for a single work of art, often inscribed and signed by the artist. Because it is made to house one particular piece, a tomobako is treated as an important part of a work's documentation and provenance. Kodai The kodai is the foot ring of a tea bowl — the raised base on which the bowl stands. Potters often leave the kodai unglazed or roughly finished, and it is frequently where a signature or seal is placed. Wabi-sabi Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic sensibility that finds beauty in imperfection, asymmetry, and the visible passage of time — a philosophy closely tied to the tea ceremony and to bowls like this one, whose value lies partly in their unevenness rather than despite it. Ishihaze Ishihaze, or "stone-burst," describes the small pockmarks that appear on a fired clay body when tiny grains of stone or grit embedded in the clay expand and burst through the surface in the kiln. Rather than a defect, it is treasured in rustic wares like Iraho as a mark of the clay's honesty and the fire's unpredictability. The Order of Culture The Order of Culture is one of the Japanese government's highest honours, awarded each year to a small number of individuals for lifetime achievement in the arts and sciences. Kusube Yaichi received it in 1978, one of a small number of ceramic artists to be recognised this way at a national level. It marks institutional recognition of a lifetime's work, rather than a designation tied to any single piece. Shipping Information This item is shipped via Japan Post EMS as our standard shipping method. Depending on the destination and logistics situation, we may use DHL or FedEx for the fastest and safest delivery. All items include a tracking number and insurance. Each item is carefully wrapped in protective cushioning materials to ensure safe international transit. Delivery Lead Time Normally takes approximately one week. Please note that delivery times may vary depending on the country, region, and customs procedures. 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