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Masanori Makino

Hagi Yaki Shochu Cup

Hagi Yaki Shochu Cup

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The undulating rim of this beautiful shochu cup is the product of Makino-san's traditional kick wheel method. The slower rotations of a kick wheel create a range of unique, wabi sabi features on his pieces. Makino-san's stray ash glaze covers the vessel and pools at the bottom to create a subtle drip. Upon closer inspection, miniature 'waterfalls' of colour variation can be found across the piece where the minerals in the clay interacted with the glaze during the firing.

Unlike the rest of Makino-san's pieces in our collection, which are fired in a climbing kiln, this cup was fired in his home drum kiln, similar to what is often used in Raku firings. Makino-san dug the clay for this vessel in Toyokita-cho, Shimonoseki City.

Height: 86mm
Width: 83mm
Capacity: 240ml

Origin

Handcrafted in Hagi

Masanori Makino

On our most recent trip, Makino-san and his wife welcomed us into their studio in the quiet outskirts of Hagi City. Positioned at the entrance of his gallery store, Makino-san proudly displays his certificate as a Certified Master of Traditional Crafts (Dentōkugei-shi). A true custodian of the traditional art form of Hagi Yaki, Makino-san is recognised as one of the hardest work Hagi Yaki artisans in the city. Only firing once per year, he spends the rest of the year preparing the materials and vessels for the next firing. He carries out every step of the process by hand, including digging his own clay, cutting down the trees and collecting the rice straw for his ash glazes, and crafting every unique piece by hand on his kick wheel. In 2018, Makino-san built the newest climbing kiln in Hagi, maybe the last step kiln to be built in the region.

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Masanori Makino standing in front of his climbing kiln in Hagi

No two pieces by Makino-san are alike, every vessel is a rare taste of a centuries old art form.

Makino-san works tirelessly to perform every step of the crafting process by hand, using traditional Hagi yaki techniques and principles. He focuses on crafting each piece with intention. Each year, his kiln is loaded with the year's worth of vessels and woodfired to finish his beautiful creations.

We feel privileged to hold a few of his limited pieces in our collection.