Height: 9.4 – 10.0cm
Diameter: 9.4 – 10.0cm
Foot diameter: 5.0cm
Height: 0.5 – 0.6cm
In recent years, Setoguro has been reevaluated. Most of the pieces are rather large, and it seems that such a shape is considered to be a characteristic of Setoguro. However, when looking at a tea bowl with a wabi feel, a small cylindrical tea bowl is even more profound in flavor, just as “Koharaki” has a high reputation from ancient times. However, such small, tightly-shaped cylindrical tea bowls are extremely rare, and to the best of my knowledge, I only know of two such bowls: the Kobagi and this Fuyu no Yoru. It is very much like a tea bowl from the Tensho period, and it is simple and honest in appearance, but also has a strong sense of presence. In particular, the overall balance of the bowl, from the foot to the rim, is outstanding. The foot of Setoguro tea bowls is generally made rather low, as seen in the Ohara-onna, to the extent that it could be said to be slightly unbalanced, but in this case the size and height of the foot across the entire base is in perfect balance, quietly supporting the top and giving the whole a very cohesive appearance. The foot is not a foot ring like the “Kohara-onna” but a slightly wide, circular foot, with a low, hood-like shape in the center.
The foot rises up from the foot ring to the waist in a gentle curve, and unlike the general Setoguro, it is not a single horizontal line. The shape of the body, which gradually tapers towards the rim, is similar to that of the Obaraki, but whereas the Obaraki has a stepped rim and the body is strongly ridged, this tea bowl, although it is also ridged, is very quiet and unobtrusive, with a gently curving rim that shows almost no evidence of artificiality.
Apart from the irregular triangular area of the foot ring, the entire piece is covered in black glaze, but it is not a rich jet black color, and it has a slightly hard feel to it, with a luster that is somewhat like that of a jewel beetle.
There is a tea-colored spot in the center of the yamakizu, and yamakizu can be seen around it. There are also yamakizu in the shape of a crosshatch around the rim.
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the shape of this tea bowl is extremely similar to that of the Shino-tsubo tea bowl in the collection of the Yabuuchi family in Kyoto, and the similarity is such that it seems as if they were made by the same person.
The inscription on the lid of the box is said to be the work of Matsudaira Bizen no Kami, but this is not certain. It was passed down in the Uematsu family of the old Kagamishima house in Gifu, and then passed to the Morikawa Jochuan family, and in recent years it came into the possession of the current owner.
