When a vessel is set on the potter’s wheel and sharpened, if the angle of the spatula is large enough, the spatula is sometimes pushed up by the rotation of the wheel and shavings appear on the surface as if a hatchet is being applied to the surface. This is called a leaping spatula or a jumping spatula.
This was probably an accidental phenomenon in the beginning, but later a decorative method emerged in which a kasuri-like pattern was carved all over the surface of the piece. This technique is often used in Japanese folk art ceramics, but the most effective example of this technique is the black-and-white Kasuri (patterned pattern on a black-and-white ground) of Chinese porcelain from the Gizhou kiln. When this technique is applied to the surface of a vessel that has been covered with black on top of white, the white underneath peeks out when the spatula strikes the surface, revealing a white flying white pattern on a black background. This is what is known as hibirute (flying white handles) on a black background. *Tobiganna
