Tokoname Katakuchi – Turquoise Crackle Spouted Matcha Bowl

This Tokoname katakuchi — a spouted pouring bowl — reads like a landscape in miniature. A pale turquoise crackle glaze washes over the rim and drips downward like a receding tide, breaking over a raw shoreline of umber, ivory, and charcoal slip, all scored with loose, calligraphic incised marks.

Inside, the glaze deepens to a mossy green that pools toward the well, its fine crackle catching the light. The gestural marks continue across the base — an abstract, painterly surface that rewards turning the bowl in your hands. Every face of this piece offers a different composition.

Origin: Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Form: Katakuchi (spouted bowl)
Dimensions: 10.5 cm × 12.5 cm x 7.2 cm H
Weight: 274 g
Decoration: Turquoise crackle glaze over brushed slip with incised abstract markwork; unattributed incised mark on the base
Condition: New, handmade — crackle patterns, glaze drips, and variations in the slipwork are inherent to the piece

The katakuchi (片口) — literally "single mouth" — is a traditional Japanese spouted vessel used for transferring sake, water, or tea. In the modern matcha kitchen it has found a new life: whisk your matcha directly in the bowl, then pour cleanly over milk or ice for lattes and iced matcha without drips or waste.

It also serves beautifully as a yuzamashi (water-cooling vessel) for sencha brewing, or simply as a serving bowl with sculptural presence.

Tokoname, on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture, is the largest and among the oldest of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns, with a ceramic history stretching back nearly 1,000 years. The town is best known for its teaware — above all its small red-clay teapots, considered by many the finest in Japan.

This piece shows Tokoname's contemporary, expressive side: traditional pouring form, modern abstract surface — a bridge between the town's teaware heritage and its living studio culture.

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

Crackle-glazed ware naturally develops subtle tea-toned lines within the crackle over years of use — a prized effect known as "tea stain scenery" that makes each bowl increasingly your own.

This is the exact piece photographed. Every item in our ceramics collection is one of a kind — once sold, it will not be restocked.

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