Article: Sojiro Kiln: Hand-Thrown, Hand-Painted Arita Blue-and-White
Sojiro Kiln: Hand-Thrown, Hand-Painted Arita Blue-and-White
Sojiro Kiln is known for two things: forms thrown by hand on the potter’s wheel, and blue-and-white painting done entirely by hand. Its founder, Sojiro, has been honored by the Japanese state twice over: as a Contemporary Master Craftsman, and with the Medal with Yellow Ribbon.
This guide explains what those honors mean, what hand-throwing and hand-painting bring to an everyday cup or bowl, and how to choose a piece.
A Contemporary Master Craftsman
Sojiro Kiln was founded by Sojiro, a potter who holds both the title of Contemporary Master Craftsman — given by the Japanese government to craftspeople of outstanding skill — and the Medal with Yellow Ribbon, which is awarded to people whose diligence in agriculture, commerce or industry has made their skill and achievements an example to others. Among people who love Arita porcelain, few do not know his name.
The kiln keeps to the tradition of marumono — round forms such as bowls and cups, the starting point of all hand-throwing — while also making pieces with a contemporary feel.
Shaped by hand on the wheel
A cup thrown by hand is never quite as regular as one made in a mold, and that is the point. Sojiro’s forms carry the warmth of a human hand: a rim that curves ever so slightly outward, a waist that sits naturally in the fingers.
The kiln makes a wide range of pieces — rice bowls, yunomi, coffee cups and mugs, large bowls, katakuchi sake pourers and vases — including cups with a distinctive waist and plates of unusual shape. Good for yourself, for guests, or as a gift.
Blue-and-white, painted entirely by hand
Rice bowls and yunomi in tako-karakusa, painted entirely by hand.
Every piece is painted by hand in sometsuke — cobalt blue under the glaze — in two steps: sen-gaki, the outline, and dami, the filling-in of color within it. Done entirely by hand, the blue takes on a soft, mellow depth. (For more on how sometsuke works, see our guide to Japanese blue-and-white.)
The subjects are wide-ranging: flowers and plants, the playful animals of the Choju-giga scrolls, divine dragons, weeping cherry and crown cherry blossoms, and the endless scrolling tendrils of tako-karakusa. The porcelain has a faintly gray tone, and alongside blue, some pieces are painted in black.
Choosing a piece
Sojiro Kiln makes many meoto pairs — rice bowls and yunomi made to be given to a couple — which are a natural choice for a wedding or for parents. For everyday use, a single yunomi, coffee cup or mug lets you feel both the hand-thrown form and the brushwork. Well designed and durable, the pieces make fine gifts.
