Bizen Kyusu no.3 - 500 ml
Product code: BK500-3 Shipping and Payment
Bizen Kyusu no.3 - 500 ml
Japanese teapot Bizen Teppo Kiln kyusu - with a side grip and a beautiful overhang. A real gem.
Bizen pottery is the oldest Japanese pottery making technique, introduced in the Heian period (794-1192). It is a type of pottery that can be recognised by its iron-like hardness, reddish-brown colour, lack of glaze and surface resulting from firing in a wood kiln. The surface of Bizen ware is entirely dependent on the yohen (the colouring of the pottery in the kiln). Distinctive features include Hidasuki, a reddish-brown decor made of fire cord created by rice straw wrapped around the pieces, and Enokihada, spots on the blackberry-colored glaze created by the action of pine ash.
The clay used for Bizen Ware
While most of the pottery you see is used for tea, a lot of Bizen ware is used for sake and cooked food.
The material used to make Bizen ware comes from a layer of clay called "hiyose" found around Imbe. It can only be collected in a few specific areas, and even in the Momoyama period, most of the clay was collected from rice fields. The clay in the rice paddies is insulated from the air and is a breeding ground for organic matter, which turns it into viscous clay.
The rice fields are irrigated with water from spring planting until the autumn harvest and the clay in these fields undergoes a continuous natural separation process resulting in viscous clay. In addition, water is drained from the fields at harvest and the sun shines on the soil. This causes water-preferring microbes and water-rejecting microbes to breed together, resulting in a high quality soil that becomes an exceptionally viscous clay suitable for ceramics.
Through this process, a single spoonful of clay contains over 100 million microbes, and putting the clay in storage to rest allows 80 species of yeast to grow.
Most of these are antibiotics known as penicillin, and longtime Bizen ware potters often say, "If you get hurt, rub it on with clay." I mean, that's what clay is.
Hiyose is very viscous and has low resistance to fire, and it contains a lot of iron compared to other types of pottery clay. Because no glaze is used on Bizen ware, potters are very sensitive to the composition of the clay. Ensuring the high quality of the clay is of utmost importance to the artist.
A piece of Bizen ware made from carefully crafted clay, even if it doesn't look spectacular when first purchased, will, after years of constant use, turn into a fine piece that bears little resemblance to the original.
Before use: rinse the teapot in hot water and allow to dry completely before using it for the first time
Maintenance: do not use detergents, dishwasher. Clean by hand, with clean water, without chemicals. Do not clean with clean detergents. The teapot should be left to dry after each use. Ideally, specify the teapot for the specific type of tea for which it will always be used.