Please note: To bypass international transportation obstacles caused by the situation in the Middle East as well as the new policy in EU, this item is shipped via DHL. This premium service ensures reliable, timely delivery, though it results in a higher shipping rate. – Created by Ryuji Hodaka (穂高隆児, born 1976), a contemporary Japanese ceramic artist based in Kasama – Hodaka is particularly recognised for his tea bowls and pursued his celebrated “One Tea Bowl a Day” (一日一盌) project, producing more than 1,000 individual chawan – Selected for the 23rd Mino Tea Bowl Exhibition in 2018 and again for the 24th Mino Tea Bowl Exhibition in 2020 – Bold hand-built appearance with an irregular, gently faceted body – Expressive polychrome surface combining creamy white, iron-red, deep brown-black, dark blue and subtle blue-green accents – Approximate dimensions: height 7.3 cm × width 8 cm – A highly individual contemporary interpretation of the Japanese tea bowl Description A powerful contemporary Japanese chawan tea bowl by Ryuji Hodaka (穂高隆児), a Kasama-based ceramic artist whose career has become particularly closely associated with the exploration of the tea bowl. Despite its compact dimensions, the work has considerable visual presence. The body is deliberately irregular rather than perfectly circular, with softly faceted walls and subtle changes in profile that become apparent as the bowl is turned in the hand. Its surface is even more expressive. Areas of creamy, almost chalk-like white are interrupted by warm iron-red and rust-coloured passages, deep brown and black spots, glossy dark glaze around the upper section and occasional cooler blue-green accents. The result is not a conventional painted pattern. Instead, colour, glaze and firing effects are treated almost like an abstract painting wrapped around a three-dimensional ceramic form. A Chawan Designed to Be Viewed in the Hand Japanese tea bowls are fundamentally different from decorative ceramics intended to be viewed from one fixed direction. A chawan is lifted, rotated, touched and viewed repeatedly during use. Hodaka takes advantage of this characteristic. There is no single definitive front to this piece. Each turn reveals a different relationship between the pale ground, rust-red areas, dark glaze and scattered spots. One side may appear dominated by warm earthy colours, while another emphasises deep black and blue. This constantly changing surface gives the bowl a particularly tactile and intimate character. The Artist – Ryuji Hodaka Ryuji Hodaka was born in Yokohama in 1976. His route into ceramics was highly unusual. Rather than beginning his career as a potter, Hodaka spent approximately sixteen years working professionally in Japanese cuisine. In 2002 he travelled to Spain as a chef at the Embassy of Japan, where his duties included preparing meals for visiting senior Japanese dignitaries. After returning to Japan, he became vice head chef and later head chef at a Japanese restaurant. Only afterwards did he make the major decision to leave professional cooking and become a ceramic artist. In 2011 he entered the Ibaraki Prefecture Ceramic Institute, now connected with the Kasama College of Ceramic Art, and completed its modelling and practical ceramic courses. In 2013 he established his own kiln in Kasama, beginning his independent career as a ceramic artist. From Chef to Potter Hodaka's background as a professional chef is particularly relevant to his ceramics. For him, a vessel is not simply an isolated sculptural object. He spent many years looking at ceramics from the opposite side: as a chef considering how food, colour, season and presentation interact with the vessel beneath them. That experience eventually led him toward making his own ceramics. The transition from chef to potter gives his work an unusual perspective. Function and visual impact coexist rather than being treated as opposites. This is particularly evident in his tea bowls, where unconventional surfaces and forceful forms remain grounded in an object intended to be held and used. “One Tea Bowl a Day” The chawan has become one of the central forms in Hodaka's ceramic practice. He undertook an ambitious project known as “Ichinichi Ichiwan” – 一日一盌, literally “One Tea Bowl a Day.” By 2018 he had produced 1,000 tea bowls through the project, an achievement marked by the solo exhibition “Ore no Hyakuwan / My 100 Tea Bowls” in Tokyo. The exercise was more than repetition. Producing tea bowls continuously allowed Hodaka to experiment with shape, glaze, colour and firing while repeatedly returning to one of the most fundamental forms in Japanese ceramics. This piece fits naturally within that exploratory approach. Its asymmetry and apparently spontaneous decoration suggest an artist interested not in reproducing a fixed model but in discovering a new character with each individual vessel. Recognition in Contemporary Tea Ceramics Hodaka's work has also received recognition within contemporary Japanese tea ceramics. In 2017, his work was exhibited in “Contemporary Tea Ceramics” at the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum. In 2018, his Sum流 Salt-Glazed Tea Bowl was selected for the 23rd Mino Tea Bowl Exhibition. He was selected again at the 24th Mino Tea Bowl Exhibition in 2020 with another experimental tea bowl. These selections are particularly relevant because the Mino Tea Bowl Exhibition focuses specifically on contemporary interpretations of the chawan rather than ceramics in general. Hyouge Jissaku Hodaka is also a member of Hyouge Jissaku (激陶者集団へうげ十作), a group of contemporary ceramic artists connected with Yoshihiro Yamada's influential manga Hyougemono. He joined the group in 2014 and subsequently participated in exhibitions throughout Japan, including events at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo. The group's philosophy encourages an unconventional and playful approach to ceramics while engaging with the history of Japanese tea culture. That attitude can be felt strongly in this bowl. It respects the centuries-old format of the chawan while rejecting the idea that a tea bowl must reproduce a historic Shino, Oribe, Raku or Karatsu model. Abstract Surface The decoration is the defining feature of this particular example. A pale, textured ground occupies much of the surface, interrupted by broad areas of rust-red and reddish brown. Dark brown-black spots appear almost spontaneously across these lighter fields. Around parts of the upper body and rim, a much darker glossy glaze creates a strong visual boundary. Small areas of blue and blue-green provide unexpected flashes of cooler colour. The surface can suggest many things: stone altered by heat, an abstract landscape, oxidised metal, fragments of modern painting, or simply the unpredictable interaction of ceramic materials during firing. No single interpretation is necessary. The strength of the work lies precisely in this ambiguity. Form At approximately 7.3 cm high and 8 cm wide, this is a compact tea bowl with a substantial, concentrated form. The walls rise with deliberate irregularity rather than mechanical symmetry. The profile also appears subtly angular or faceted, giving the piece a sculptural quality when viewed from different directions. This irregularity is an intentional part of the work's handmade character. For collectors accustomed to perfectly symmetrical porcelain, the shape may initially appear unconventional. Within the context of contemporary Japanese tea ceramics, however, this physical variation is fundamental: the marks of forming, glazing and firing remain visible rather than being concealed. The Japanese Chawan The chawan occupies a unique position within Japanese ceramic culture. Although fundamentally a vessel for drinking tea, centuries of tea practice transformed the bowl into one of the most closely observed forms in Japanese ceramics. Small differences in rim, foot, weight, balance, glaze and surface can completely alter the experience of a tea bowl. Contemporary artists such as Hodaka continue this tradition without necessarily imitating historic wares. This piece is a particularly good example of that approach: unmistakably a Japanese tea bowl, yet visually contemporary. Condition The bowl appears to be in good overall condition. Variations in glaze, colour, texture, irregular edges and firing effects are inherent characteristics of handmade studio ceramics and form part of the artistic expression of the piece. Minor signs of handling or previous use may be present. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description. A highly individual contemporary chawan by Ryuji Hodaka, combining the artist's deep engagement with tea bowls, his unusual background as a professional Japanese chef and a bold abstract approach to colour and ceramic surface. Shipping & Handling We ship worldwide via DHL or EMS with full insurance and tracking. Professional packing ensures safe arrival; combined shipping is available for multiple wins. Local customs duties and import taxes, where applicable, are the buyer's responsibility. Seller Guarantee We specialise in authentic Japanese ceramics and decorative arts and carefully research the artists and historical background of the works we offer. Questions are welcome – we normally reply within 24 hours.