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Kittachi Sashiba Glaze Plate / 27.5cm
** Each 27.5cm Kittachi sashiba plate is shown individually. The first image shows the available plate.

The large plate is designed for use as a dinner plate or serving dish. The flat surface and slight rim also allow it to be used as a tray. An original glaze (Sashiba), when fired, gives each plate a textured surface with rich tones and metallic like areas that vary from piece to piece.

The Kittachi series of mugs and plates are crafted in Saga, which is renowned as a pottery region. The process of preparing and shaping clay is conducted in Arita, and firing is done in Imari. In recent years, even as a well-known porcelain production center, it is necessary for the Arita producers to source porcelain materials from other prefectures. Fortunately, the Kittachi series is made from iron-rich clay locally sourced from Saga Prefecture. Roughly formed using a mould, each mug and plate is finished by the hands of a potter in order to refine its shape. A workshop based in Imari, Saga fired the vessels at temperatures similar to early Imari-ware (early 16th century), in order to achieve the desired surface finish of the ceramics.

An original glaze we call sashiba was developed for this series. When fired, it results in nuanced hues and tones, rather than a solid uniform color. The Chinese character whose kun reading is sashiba, literally means shades and shadows, making it an apt name for the glaze which produces varied light and shadowed tones across the surface of each vessel.