A fresh water container for use in the Maccha Tea Ceremony by Nagakusa Yōhei which extends the artist’s investigation of flowing glaze into the quiet ritual context of the tea ceremony, where restraint and presence are paramount. The form is gently cylindrical, with softly swelling walls that taper toward a small, precisely finished foot, its proportions calibrated for both visual balance and functional ease. The surface is articulated with fine vertical fluting that subtly animates the body, over which a luminous gradient of blue descends from a soft, milky white at the rim into a deep, saturated indigo at the base. This transition is continuous and atmospheric, each rib catching light differently to produce a shifting interplay of tone and shadow. The interior deepens into a darker pool of blue, reinforcing a sense of depth and inward quietude appropriate to its use. In contrast to the porcelain body, the vessel is paired with a circular wooden lid, its warm, organic grain providing a tactile and visual counterpoint to the cool, luminous ceramic surface. Here, Nagakusa harmonizes material contrast, functional clarity, and the meditative stillness central to the tea aesthetic. It is 16 cm (6-1/4 inches) diameter, 19 cm (7-1/2 inches tall and in perfect condition, enclosed in the original signed wooden box directly from the artist this year.
Nagakusa Yohei was born in Aichi prefecture in 1986. He studied Mechanical Engineering and design in University, and worked for several years in that field before turning to ceramics. He graduated from the Tajimi Ceramics Research Facility in 2014, and was awarded that same year special prize at the Mino Ceramic Art Exhibition as well as being first accepted into the Nihon Dento Kogeiten (National Traditional Crafts Exhibition). He states “Glaze, light, and color are central themes in my work. For this exhibition, I have focused primarily on my ryūsai pieces, which I have been making for the longest time. In ryūsai, several types of fluid glazes are applied separately. During firing, the glazes flow and melt into one another, forming gradients of color. While I control the flow to a certain extent, the final result is entrusted to the firing process, and it is precisely this balance of difficulty and appeal that draws me to the technique. Another element I value deeply is form. I study time-honored shapes and continue to pursue forms that allow both beauty of proportion and the natural movement of glaze to be fully expressed”.
