AJISAI KOBO

Between endless patches of rice paddies on a tiny mountain, you can find the small workshop of our Kasama-yaki artisan.

The Kasama region is known for its density of artisans, who do not have a particular “Kasama style”. Most of the artisans use their own clay and glazes to distinguish their style from one another. Masami Taniguchi is one of 300 artisans in this region, but his artistic style is known and cherished beyond the borders of Japan. As the second generation of potter, he inherited the secrets of the production method from his mother.

A special glaze, which mixture is a family secret is applied on the objects, before being fired in a smoke kiln, that had been used in the production of roof tiles. During the firing process, the pieces are completely engulfed in smoke, resulting in a black layer coating them entirely. In a tiring process, Mr. Taniguchi grinds off the black layer and the beautiful rough blue glaze appears.

The Asemi Co. cups are made of Hasami-yaki porcelain, and finished by our Kasama-yaki artisan Masami Taniguchi in this special procedure.