About Japanese Yunomi Teacup pair - Mori Iroku IV - Hand-Carved Banko-yaki with Yohen Finish - 80ml

A matched pair of hand-carved teacups by Mori Iroku IV, fourth-generation master of the Iroku kiln, finished in a yohen kiln fire in a pattern can never be repeated.
Yohen means "kiln change." It is a natural shift in color and surface that happens when flame, heat, and atmosphere react with the iron in the clay during firing. The potter can guide it. He cannot command it. What comes out of the kiln is decided in the fire.

On these two cups it runs the full range. Deep copper and rust, cool steel and slate, drifts of smoke grey, and scattered across the surface a fine speckling of pale blue and turquoise where the fire caught the clay in its own way. Turn them in the light and the color moves. Set them side by side and no two facets read the same. This is Mori Iroku's yohen finish, a clear step above his everyday work.
And the surface is carved entirely by hand. One cut at a time, until each cup is wrapped in Iroku's signature Diamond cut from foot to rim. This is where the two techniques do something neither could do alone: every facet sits at a slightly different angle, so every facet catches the kiln color at a slightly different tone. The carving gives the fire a hundred surfaces to play across.

Underneath the artistry they are honest, everyday tea tools. Thrown from iron-rich Banko clay, the faceted walls give the hand a secure, tactile grip, and the gently flared rim sits cleanly at the lip. Iron-rich Banko clay is prized for softening the astringency of green tea, drawing a rounder, sweeter cup from sencha, hojicha, or genmaicha. Sized for tea, they also make a quiet pair for sake or a slow evening pour.
A set made to be used daily and admired often, and a gift that arrives looking like a museum piece.

About the artist

Mori Iroku IV (born 1963) is the fourth-generation head of Iroku Toen, a Banko-ware kiln founded in 1880 in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, the historic heart of Banko-yaki. He learned the family's hand-carving and finishing techniques, including the signature diamond cut and the Matsukawa pine-bark pattern, from his father, Mori Iroku III (1936-2014). He is recognized as a Traditional Craftsman, certified by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Each piece is carved entirely by hand, carrying on a craft the Iroku name has held for more than 140 years.

Details:

Artist: Mori Iroku IV (fourth generation)
Origin: Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Ware: Banko-yaki, iron-rich clay
Finish: Yohen ("kiln change"), a natural, one-of-a-kind fired color; never repeated
Technique: Signature "diamong cut" technique 
Form: Yunomi (Japanese teacup), matched set of 2
Markings: Artist's stamp on the base
Capacity:  80ml each
Care: Hand-wash only