AJISAI KOBO
Between endless patches of rice paddies on a tiny mountain, you can find the small workshop of our Kasama-yaki artisan.
The Kasama region is known for its density of artisans, who do not have a particular “Kasama style”. Most of the artisans use their own clay and glazes to distinguish their style from one another. Masami Taniguchi is one of 300 artisans in this region, but his artistic style is known and cherished beyond the borders of Japan. As the second generation of potter, he inherited the secrets of the production method from his mother.
A special glaze, which mixture is a family secret is applied on the objects, before being fired in a smoke kiln, that had been used in the production of roof tiles. During the firing process, the pieces are completely engulfed in smoke, resulting in a black layer coating them entirely. In a tiring process, Mr. Taniguchi grinds off the black layer and the beautiful rough blue glaze appears.
The Asemi Co. cups are made of Hasami-yaki porcelain, and finished by our Kasama-yaki artisan Masami Taniguchi in this special procedure.
See our Kasama Artisan doing his craft
This very unique style will make your espresso or tea session stand out. Unlike most other firing methods, the kiln of artisan Masami Taniguchi smokes the cups, which leads to the amazing blueish and rough finish. Each cup is one of a kind because the outcome is unpredictable.
Prime fired porcelain cups are imported from Hasami, and a few layers of a special glaze is applied on them. As his speciality, Masami Taniguchi fires the cups in a kiln that was formally used for roof tiles.
Kasama-yaki is made in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture. Kasama-yaki has its roots in the 18th century and grew soon to one of the bigger pottery producing regions in the Kanto area. Today, about 300 Kilns are active and produce a variety of styles and materials. As a pottery style with no particular regional clay, it imports raw material from other regions, giving it limitless possibilities.
The cups come in our special artisan line packaging.
The Kasama-yaki cups cannot be used in the microwave, but may be used in the dish washer.