Height 15.4cm, Bowl diameter 18.3cm, Bottom diameter 15.2cm
Hon’ami Koetsu’s grandson, Kakuanzai Mitsuho, followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Koetsu in producing Raku ware tea bowls, but he also left behind Shigaraki-style water jars, incense containers, and tea bowls, known as Kakuan Shigaraki, which are highly valued among the Shigaraki connoisseurs. This water jar is the most famous of all HANEI’s water jars, and its shape is modeled after the arrow-necked water jars of Shino, Bizen, and Shigaraki, but HANEI had his own tastes and style, and he used elegant designs. The body is sharply ridged at the shoulder, and the lower half of the body has a stepped section with a comb over in the itome style, with a paulownia design on two sides of the body carved with nails. The cord of the lid is decorated with a five-petaled flower, and the workmanship is quite elegant. The clay is mixed with feldspar grains, and the entire surface is covered with a thin ash glaze, leaving a portion of the bottom and the prospective surface unglazed, while the prospective surface is covered with a bluish glaze, similar to that of Nikiyo pottery. The mouth is cracked and has been repaired with gold.
