Matcha bowl / "Hagi" Four Harunobu Shôroku

Hagi-yaki matcha bowl made by Nobuaki Yamato (1956-), in the Harunobu Shôroku kiln in Miyano, Yamaguchi prefecture.

Hagi ware is fired slowly at low temperatures in a deck kiln, resulting in a soft clay finish with little sealing. As it is absorbent, the tea seeps through fine cracks on the surface, called “Kannyu”, which will change their colors over time and create a unique texture. This is called “Hagi no nanabaké” (Hagi changes the tone of the color “seven times”).