Hiroshima Lacquerware / Mangosteen Motif / Hand-sculpted

This work represents a protective outer shell, with an inner form that suggests the presence of a human figure once within it.
It can be appreciated as an ornamental piece, or used functionally to hold and safeguard treasured items inside.

Width：6.5cm
Depth : 6.5cm
Height：4.5cm
Weight：30g

Dry lacquer
Lacquer

KAORI FUJITA

Your back. Someone’s back. Or is someone's back a mirror that reflects oneself?

Using the back, whose own one cannot see, I try to visualize the changes that occur in people's relationships to each other, their differences, and the ambiguity and inability to grasp such things.

ARTISAN STORY

Kaori Fujita
I work on the theme of the human body, mainly the back.
For my three-dimensional works, I mainly use dry lacquer technique and combine it with other materials. Two-dimensional works are also painted with colored lacquer and, depending on the work, shells and metal powder are sometimes used.
While training in lacquer under Noaya Takayama, he is also pursuing his own artistic practice.

KYO WARE & KIYOMIZU WARE

About 1,200 years ago / 800s / Heian Period (794–1185)

Kyoto ceramics reach back to kilns operating before and during the Heian period, then expanded with tea culture in the Muromachi and Momoyama eras. In the seventeenth century, Nonomura Ninsei perfected brilliant overglaze decoration, followed by innovators such as Ogata Kenzan, Okuda Eisen and Aoki Mokubei, whose diverse approaches shaped today’s Kyo and Kiyomizu ware.

In Japan, these ceramics are famous precisely because there is no single fixed style. Tea bowls, kaiseki dishes and everyday tableware may use overglaze painting, blue-and-white decoration, gold, sancai-inspired color and many other techniques. The craft sits at the heart of Kyoto’s culture of pairing vessels with cuisine and tea.

The surprising point is that Kyoto was never defined by a single major clay deposit. Potters drew on materials such as Amakusa porcelain stone, techniques arriving from other regions, and the tastes of artists and patrons gathered in the capital. Freedom from one local material helped make Kyoto ceramics unusually hybrid and stylistically diverse.

Individual Differences

As each piece is individually handcrafted, slight variations in color, pattern, shape, and texture may occur. These subtle differences are a natural characteristic of handcrafted works, making each piece truly unique. We hope you will enjoy these individual variations as part of the beauty and character of Japanese craftsmanship.

Production Time

If an item is not currently in stock, it may be made to order by the artisan. As each piece is carefully handcrafted, production may take several months depending on the item and the artisan's schedule. We appreciate your patience and understanding.