An Emerald from Kyoto
Since the sixteenth century, Kyoto ware has evolved alongside Japan’s tea ceremony, its workshops known for refined wheel work and expressive glazes. That heritage is visible in the spiral ridges left by throwing and hand-finishing, giving each bowl its own character. Across the surface, a vivid emerald glaze settles into delicate crackle, bringing a contemporary voice to a tradition shaped over generations.
Born of Kyoto’s Heritage: This piece too is authentic Kyo-yaki pottery, handcrafted using time-honored techniques and refined by centuries of Japanese artistry.
Learn more → The Art and Technique of Kyoto Ware
Gold Around the Ridges
Broken into two sections, the bowl was restored over four months by Keiko Hata, a lacquer artist with a Master’s degree in Lacquer Arts from Kyoto City University of Arts whose urushi practice includes the conservation of Buddhist sculpture. Using food-safe natural urushi, she carefully reunited the vessel before sprinkling genuine 24K gold powder in the traditional maki-e method and finishing the seam through roiro, the highest grade of urushi finishing, which gives the gold its smooth, deep luster. Beginning at the foot, the seam circles the ridged body, climbs through the emerald crackle to the rim, and continues as one unbroken path.
A Meridian in Emerald
This bowl brings together two living Japanese traditions: Kyoto’s ceramic heritage and the enduring craft of authentic kintsugi in natural urushi. Drawn in gold across the emerald crackle, the fracture has become the defining line of the work—a meridian that could belong to no other vessel. To welcome it into your collection is to become the next custodian of both traditions, carrying their story into a new home.
