Description

Tokoname Kyusu Teapot

We are excited to introduce the first Obubu Tokoname Kyusu. Almost every year, we visit the famous pottery town of Tokoname in Aichi prefecture. This time we were looking for a functional, accessible nice pouring kyusu, and we found it! Umehara-san, kindly offered to create a small stamp bearing the Obubu name and apply it to the pots. We challenge you to find it!

While looking for our preferred teapot we took five things into consideration:

– Comfortable to use, with a lightweight design, a short handle, and a lid.
– The size is perfect for a single cup but large enough to comfortably drink with three or four friends.
– The texture is smooth and matt, providing a good grip.
– The flavours are enhanced by the material interaction with the clay.
– The pouring experience is smooth and laminar, preventing drips.

We visited a pottery studio with the image of a user-friendly and accessible teapot with no compromises with the functionality and brewing capabilities. Amongst the crowd of teapots in the studio we found the Obubu Tokoname Kyusu. With a slight flare at the lid and a rounded curve to the brick-red teapot. When we asked to test the pour, you will probably be as surprised as us to see how quick and laminar it pours!

Artist profile

Master craftsman Umehara Jiro 梅原二郎. Born in 1948, graduated in 1966 from the Tokoname High school Ceramics Department.

In 1975 he established Gyokuryu kiln, which is his pottery name, Gyokuryu 玉龍. Umehara-san has won many prizes and been awarded many times, some of those include:

– Certified as a traditional craftsman
– Selected for the Japanese Sencha Crafts Exhibition
– Awarded Aichi prefecture excellent technology prize
– Tokoname City Cultural Promotion Award
– Won Tokoname city “Nagaso Awards Ceramic Exhibition”
– Regional Brand “Tokoname-yaki” Certified Kiln

His specialist techniques include the use of the pottery wheel, algae glaze, diverse firing techniques and Tobi-Kanna.