Hekizan Onimaru II
White Yuzamashi Water Cooler
Description
We are delighted to add to our tea ware collection this handmade and beautiful water cooler (Yuzamashi) made by Onimaru san, the master behind our KAORU tea cups and Gyokuro tea cup.
In clay and covered with ash glaze, this water cooler is the perfect addition to your green tea set and will help you prepare the perfect cup of sencha or gyokuro. Pour the boiling water into it, wait a few seconds and then pour it either first in your tea cups for an additional cooling stage, or directly into the tea pot, to cover the leaves.
A note about how to handle the Yuzamashi. In Japan, like with every items with a similar shape and use (tea cups, chawan, soup bowl, etc.), tradition asks that the Yuzamashi should be held by placing it on your extended fingers, and not grabbed from the side or the top. At the top, the thumb should remain in extension, not curled inside, the top side of the Yuzamashi resting at phalanx level. The hand becomes like a pair of tongs. Its design was done with this tradition in mind.
*Note: it is possible to order this item even if it is marked as momentarily out of the stock with us, but please note that it might take a couple of weeks before delivery as the potter does not have a large stock on his side and might need to make new ones. Our team will contact you if this is the case.
About Takatori style
During the Edo period, Takatori-Yaki was developed under the auspice of Kuroda clan. Also, it received advice regarding the pottery techniques from Kobori Enshu, a noble Japanese Sado artist, who picked Takatori kiln as one of seven his favorite kilns. Its philosophical guidelines focus on elegant simplicity. Its color diversity stands out within the Japanese pottery world.
Red, brown, green, white: all of them are based on the beauty of Japanese nature. What makes Takatori-Yaki special is its use of seven different kinds of color glazes. Moreover, it produces a high note as if it was porcelain when flicking one’s fingers at it. This is because Takatori-Yaki is made very thin although it has layers of glazes.
Artist Information
Hekizan Onimaru II
This water cooler is designed and handmade by pottery master ONIMARU Hezikan the Second. Born in 1972 as the eldest son of ONIMARU Hezikan the First, he has dedicated his life to the Takatori Yaki pottery style founded in Fukuoka prefecture. Among his incredible achievements, Onimaru san took part to the 2012 Biennale of Contemporary Pottery and Ceramics of Sèvres, in France.
Several pieces made by Onimaru san are now part of the collections of famous Zen temples in Japan, including the Ginkaku-ji and Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. Today, Onimaru the Second aims at creating a modern Takatori Yaki style that combines modern elements to traditional craftsmanship.