Hikidashi-Guro Five-Sided Matcha Bowl

The Hikidashi-guro Five-Sided Matcha Bowl carries the deep, velvety darkness of Bizen ware transformed by fire and sudden cold. Its surface is rich with the intensity of a technique that pushes both clay and craft to their limits.

From a pentagonal foot, the form unfolds into five softly flowing panels, each one stretching and curving organically upward to shape a vessel that feels both structured and alive. In conceiving this design, the artist Mori Toshiaki drew upon the philosophical balance of yin and yang: straight lines embody yin, while curves represent yang; the cool, subdued tone signifies yin, while the odd number of the pentagon's five sides represents yang. In this piece, these opposites are brought into harmony within a single unified form.

The hikidashi-guro technique, a method with roots in Seto and Mino ware, was long considered outside the traditions of Bizen. Because Bizen clay is particularly fine-grained, it is inherently vulnerable to sudden thermal change, making the process prone to cracking; for this reason, the technique was historically seen as incompatible with, even taboo within, the Bizen tradition. Yet after approximately five years of dedicated experimentation, Mori developed the skill to achieve his intended surface effects with consistency and intention, producing results that were once thought impossible in this clay.

The process itself is elemental. The vessel is drawn from the kiln at the height of firing, while the clay still glows with heat, and plunged into a bed of rice husks to cool rapidly. This sudden transition from extreme heat to smothered darkness arrests the surface in a state of deep, lustrous black.

Mori brings together a profound respect for Bizen tradition with the willingness to work at its edges, finding in that tension a beauty entirely his own.

Mori Toshiaki

Among the esteemed lineages known as the Bizen Rokusei, or Six Ancient Kilns of Bizen ware, Hozan Kiln stands out as a venerable institution. Mori Toshiaki, the 19th-generation successor, masterfully upholds this rich tradition while pioneering new possibilities. Balancing his responsibilities at the kiln with his personal artistic pursuits, Mori conducts extensive research and explores innovative approaches in both shaping and firing techniques, pushing the boundaries of Bizen ware.

Bizen Ware

Bizen ware is a traditional stoneware produced in the Imbe area of Okayama Prefecture. It is one of the oldest ceramics in Japan, and is made using the yakishime technique, in which pieces are fired at high temperatures without glaze to make them durable and water-resistant.

Bizen ware is called "the art of clay and fire" for the exquisite colors and patterns produced by the kiln's flames, and is characterized by its minimalist, wabi sabi design.