Soft Light Guinomi Sake Cup

In Soft Light Guinomi Sake Cup, Seto ware artist Taruta Hiroshi explores the gentle dialogue between light and shadow. The guinomi sake cup is shaped with care and coated in a gentle celadon glaze, giving it an airy, graceful character. The small vessel carries an airy, tranquil presence, its porcelain surface animated by a rhythm of elongated and shorter lines that appear to drift across the cup. The openings here are softly rounded along both edges of the porcelain, giving the surface a mellow tactile quality without any sharp definition. These incisions are placed with a deliberate irregularity, suggesting the quiet movement of soft light as it shifts and fades. 

The technique Taruta applied, known as hotarude—literally “firefly technique”—traditionally involves carving intricate openings in porcelain and coating them with a translucent glaze. This allows light to pass through the vessel while maintaining a seamless surface, creating points of illumination reminiscent of fireflies glimmering in a silk-dark night. Though hotarude cut-outs are typically circular, Taruta specializes in linear carvings, bringing his own unique artistic vision to the form.

Beyond the intricacy of the carving, the glaze plays an essential role in shaping its luminous character. Taruta began working with the glaze during his apprenticeship and continued to refine its formulation by carefully adjusting glaze composition and firing conditions, achieving a balance of color and translucency. The porcelain glows softly while preserving the clarity of the carved lines.

Small and delicately balanced, this sake cup rests comfortably in the hand, inviting a moment of contemplation. As the cup is slowly turned, light drifts across the rounded openings and glides along the porcelain surface, appearing and fading in gentle intervals. This subtle play of brightness reveals the vessel’s tender textures and flowing lines, allowing its radiance to emerge little by little.

Taruta Hiroshi

Taruta Hiroshi is a Seto ware artist specializing in linear hotarude, an openwork technique in which cutouts of graceful lines are carved in clay, then filled with translucent glaze before firing. Working with porcelain and pale celadon glaze, Taruta thus creates landscapes of light with each delicate incision. He brings an innovative approach to his work, seeking out new modes of expression as he pushes the boundaries of hotarude. His elegant vessels foster interactions between space and light that bring a sense of wonder and quiet mystery.

Articles de Seto

Fabriqué dans et autour de la ville de Seto dans la préfecture d'Aichi, la vaisselle de Seto englobe une large gamme de céramiques qui reflètent des siècles de savoir-faire et d'innovation. Figurant parmi les six fours anciens (Rokkoyo) du Japon, la région de Seto occupe une place de choix dans le patrimoine céramique du pays. Elle fut également pionnière dans la production de porcelaine en série, et son usage répandu a donné naissance au mot « soupe » . Setomono — terme encore utilisé aujourd'hui pour désigner la céramique en général.

Remarquable par son ampleur stylistique, Seto est l'une des rares régions du Japon où l'on fabrique à la fois du grès et de la porcelaine. De la simple vaisselle du quotidien aux pièces plus raffinées, la vaisselle de Seto continue de rythmer le quotidien avec des créations alliant tradition et créativité.