Kairagi White Hagi Ware Back Handle Tea Pot by Mukuhara Kashun

Mukuhara Kashun created this Kairagi glazed White Hagi ushirode no kyusu (back handle  tea pot) by hand at the Furuhuta Kiln in Hagi, Japan.  

White Hagi ware was developed by the Miwa family in Hagi in 1663.  Successive generations of Miwa potters have produced teaware for centuries, including Raku ware.  In the 1930s, Miwa Kyuwa revitalized Hagi ware by adjusted the old pottery recipe and mixing straw into the glaze solution to create a purer shade of white.  Later, his younger brother Miwa Jusetsu created the famous Oni-Hagi (devil-Hagi) chawan and started a glaze trend that is still in high demand to this day.  The brothers were named as national treasures by the Japanese government. 

Another popular glaze pattern is called kairagi ("shark skin").  Kairagi glaze is created by mixing ash with the glaze to produce a granulated pattern that is smooth, irregular and crackled in appearance.  The contrast between the bright white glaze and the dark, rough clay peaking through the glaze's crevices is reminiscent of shark skin.