Shigaraki Katakuchi – Copper Red Spouted Matcha Bowl

Deep, glossy red, like ripe pomegranate. This Shigaraki katakuchi (spouted bowl) is glazed in a rich copper red that shifts from cherry to garnet across its surface, with fine feathered streaks in the glaze that catch the light as the bowl turns. A soft, hand-pressed waist gives the form a gentle, organic shape.

Inside, the red gives way at the bottom of the well to a pool of lavender and violet, where the glaze gathered thickest in the kiln. Around the foot, the red breaks into a frosty blue-gray edge before meeting the raw, speckled clay. A small spout is pinched softly from the rim.

We selected this piece in person in Shigaraki.

Origin: Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
Form: Katakuchi (spouted bowl) with hand-pressed waist
Glaze: Glossy copper red (shinsha) with lavender pooling in the well and blue-gray breaks at the foot
Dimensions: 10.8 cm × 7.5 cm H (excluding spout)
Weight: 324 g
Clay: Speckled Shigaraki stoneware, unglazed foot
Marks: None
Condition: New, handmade — color variation, glaze streaking, and the uneven glaze edge at the foot are inherent to the piece
Box: Kraft box

Red has long been one of the hardest colors to achieve in high-fired ceramics. Copper red glazes, known in Japan as shinsha (辰砂), depend on the atmosphere inside the kiln: with too much oxygen the copper turns green, and with too little control the red turns muddy or patchy. Getting a clear, deep red takes careful firing and a good measure of luck.

That unpredictability is also what makes each piece unique. Where the glaze runs thin, the red brightens; where it pools thick, as in the well of this bowl, it can shift toward purple and blue. No two copper red bowls ever come out of the kiln quite the same.

Red and green sit opposite each other on the color wheel, so vivid matcha foam against this deep red is a bold, celebratory pairing. Whisk directly in the bowl, then use the spout to pour over milk or ice for lattes, or use it as a yuzamashi for cooling water before brewing gyokuro or sencha.

Hand wash with warm water and a soft cloth. Avoid dishwashers, microwaves, and abrasive scrubbing. Dry fully before storing.

The glossy glaze is easy to clean and resists staining, so the red will stay bright with simple care.

This is the exact piece photographed. Once sold, it will not be restocked.

Carefully packed and shipped directly from our Kyoto studio via Japan Post EMS, fully tracked and insured.