Artisan Kawai Taichi | Ice-Like Crackle for Your Everyday Mug

More from Kawai Taichi

Kawai Taichi makes Japanese pottery at Tobo Usurai in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, using a glaze called hyoretsu kannyu (ice-crackle glaze) to create pieces patterned like cracking ice.

In Japanese ceramics, the fine network of cracks that forms in the glaze surface is called kannyu (crazing). On most pieces it appears by chance, but in Kawai Taichi's work the crazing itself is the star. The artisan brings its distinctive expression, at once cool and warm, to simply shaped mugs and rice bowls.

The patterns made by clay and glaze differ from piece to piece, and no two are alike, even within the same series. This article introduces how Kawai Taichi works, the two series Suiho (Bubble Blue) and Kurage (Jellyfish Lilac), and how to use them every day.

Tobo Usurai in Kameoka, Kyoto

Kawai Taichi is based in Kameoka, a city just west of Kyoto. The studio is called Tobo Usurai, "usurai" meaning a thin film of ice, and true to its name, ice-like patterns spread across the pieces.

What Kawai Taichi aims for is pottery that is both easy to use and beautiful. The forms are kept simple so that the texture of the glaze can show richly. Believing that pottery is worth most when it is used in daily life, the artisan focuses on pieces you reach for every day: mugs, coffee cups and rice bowls.

Ice-Crackle Glaze: A Pattern Like Cracking Ice

Crazing forms as a fired piece cools, when the glaze and clay shrink at different rates and fine cracks open in the glaze surface. The piece is not broken, and the cracks do not cause leaks. More in our article on crazing.

Ice-crackle glaze brings this crazing out large and clearly. In Kawai Taichi's pieces the cracks overlap like a net, and shades of color gather along their lines.

Look inside a piece and the crackle seems to layer back into the depth, and the depth of the color shifts with the light. To see more crazed pieces, browse our crackle glaze collection too.

Suiho and Kurage: Two Colors

Kawai Taichi's ice-crackle glaze comes in two series.

• Suiho (Bubble Blue)　A deep blue gradation inspired by bubbles under water
• Kurage (Jellyfish Lilac)　A grayish pale purple gradation inspired by flowers and jellyfish drifting in the sea

With the same glaze technique, Suiho looks deep and Kurage looks soft. The first photo shows a Kurage rice bowl.

A rice bowl shows the crackle pattern well across its wide interior. The large Suiho rice bowl has a rim that waves gently like flower petals. The photo below shows a Kurage coffee cup.

More from Kawai Taichi

How to Use Them: From Morning Coffee to Mealtime

• Mugs and coffee cups　For morning coffee or afternoon tea. They come in medium and large, so you can choose by how much you drink
• Rice bowls　For rice and soup, and for salad or dessert too. Fill one with white rice and the blue or pale purple crackle stands out even more
• Set two colors side by side　Pair one Suiho and one Kurage, and even in the same shape, the difference in color becomes a scene on the table

Mugs, coffee cups and rice bowls in stock are shown in the Kawai Taichi collection. To compare mugs by other Kyoto artisans, see our guide to Kyo ware mugs too.

There is also a pair set with mugs and rice bowls in both Suiho and Kurage. The same shapes in different colors make it a good gift for a couple or two people sharing a home.

Care

Kawai Taichi's pieces are microwave safe. They are dishwasher safe with conditions, and not oven safe. With crazed pieces, coffee or tea can settle into the lines over time, making the pattern look a little darker. If that concerns you, wash pieces soon after use and dry them well before putting them away. For details, see each product page and our article on stoneware care.

Related Articles and Terms

Crazing and Glaze

• Crazing (Kannyu): Cracks in Glaze That Aren't Damage
• Japanese Pottery Glazes: The Main Types Explained
• Keinen Bika: Pottery That Gets Better With Age

Kyoto Pottery and Mugs

• Kyo Ware and Kiyomizu Ware: Kyoto's Refined Ceramics
• Kyo Ware Mugs: Four Kyoto Artisans Compared by Glaze and Shape
• What to Give Someone Who Has Everything: A Piece That Gets Used