Shinogi Carved Set of 6 — Shigaraki

Shinogi is faceting: the surface is pared away with a blade, one line at a time. Yamamoto Masanori cuts every one of those lines by hand, so even two pieces of the same shape throw different shadows.

A mug, a plate, a pourer, a bowl, a vase, a sake cup. Drink, serve, pour, arrange — a whole table built from one technique. All of it white, so nothing you put on it has to compete.

What is in the set (6 pieces)

• Shinogi Mug, Large White — approx. 10.5cm diameter × 8.5cm high
• Shinogi Flat Rim Plate, 12cm White — approx. 13cm diameter × 2cm high
• Shinogi Katakuchi Spouted Pourer, White — approx. 10.5cm diameter × 6cm high
• Warped Shinogi Small Bowl, Triangular — approx. 10cm diameter × 5cm high
• Shinogi Single-Stem Vase, Small — approx. 10cm diameter × 4cm high
• Shinogi Sakazuki Sake Cup — approx. 10cm diameter × 4cm high

The katakuchi pours dashi and also works for whisking matcha. The sakazuki is wide enough to serve a side dish, and the small bowl has been pushed deliberately out of round.

About the maker

Shigaraki | Yamamoto Masanori

The work is made at a traditional kiln inherited from a grandfather. Its mark is shinogi: facets carved one at a time, by hand, rhythmic and full of movement, giving the whole piece its character.

Shinogi originally named the raised ridge running along the blade of a Japanese sword. In pottery it means paring the surface back with a blade or a kanna to leave a run of vertical facets. Yamamoto Masanori uses it across rim plates, soup cups, curry plates, teacups and mugs, and a table set entirely in shinogi takes on a certain brightness from that alone. It is the Shigaraki tradition carried on, with one technique of the maker’s own laid over it.

Cut by hand, so colour and carving vary from piece to piece. Both deepen with use.

See everything by Yamamoto Masanori