Fresh Water Jar (Mizusashi)

1999

Hagi, in southwestern Japan, has been a ceramics center since the sixteenth century, when Japan forcibly relocated a group of potters from Korea to the area. The Korean artisans developed a ceramic type that is favored by tea-ceremony aficionados because its orange clay and pinkish glaze accentuate the green color of the matcha tea served. One distinctive quality often found on Hagi ware is glaze that separates during firing to create a complex landscape of bumps and fissures on the surface. Kaneta Masanao is a modern Hagi master who uses the traditional materials of the region to create dramatic, faceted forms carved from heavy blocks of clay.