Setoguro Matcha Bowl

This matcha bowl by Hori Toshiro, a master of Mino ware, draws out the jet-black luster of Setoguro, or “Seto black,” a style valued in tea ceremony culture for its rich color and soft sheen. Hori’s rendition is a deep, complex black that seems to glitter from within like a night sky of veiled stars.

Setoguro’s unique finish is achieved by drawing the vessel from the kiln mid-firing and plunging it into water to rapidly cool, a technique known as hikidashi-guro. This piece was fired in a traditional anagama kiln, a tunnel-like wood-fired kiln used in Japan for 1,600 years. It reflects Hori’s precisely honed intuition for the timing of extraction, a crucial moment that makes or breaks a piece. Surface crackles and nuanced differences in shades of black suggest how the glaze melted and cooled, contributing to this matcha bowl’s bold wabi sabi presence.

This piece was formed from local mogusa and gotomaki clays in equal parts, a high ratio of mogusa. Named after moxibustion herbs for its texture, mogusa clay is highly difficult to work with, but has a fluffy quality akin to ceramics from the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1603 CE). The base is left unglazed, a style called tsuchimise, or “showing the earth,” which reveals this particular clay’s soft, organic quality.

This vessel's irregular cylindrical form is crafted to rest naturally in the palms, allowing bowl and user to work together in harmony. Hori’s sensitive shaping of the natural forces of earth and flames, his consideration for history and tradition—this matcha bowl reminds us that we are all connected: land and people, past and present.

Hori Toshiro

Hori Toshiro is an artist specializing in traditional Mino Momoyama ware techniques such as Shino, Setoguro, Oribe, and ki-Seto. Using local clay and a wood-fired anagama kiln, he crafts rich textures and lustrous glazes that exemplify the genre's wabi sabi elegance.

Hori is a Kani City Intangible Cultural Property Holder of Shino, and inherited Setoguro from Living National Treasure Kato Kozo, alongside whom he worked for fifty years. Today, Hori actively contributes to the revival and spread of Mino Momoyama ceramics. In addition to his own artistic pursuits, Hori acts as technical advisor to ceramics brand deidei to pass the craft on to future generations.

Mino Ware

Mino ware, crafted in Gifu Prefecture's Tono region, is renowned among Japanese pottery for its rich heritage and versatility. It features over fifteen distinct styles, making it more varied than many other Japanese ceramics. 

Now accounting for over 50 percent of Japan's ceramic production, its popularity is unmatched. Designated as a traditional craft in 1978, Mino ware reflects a blend of historical depth and modern relevance, exemplifying exceptional craftsmanship.