Matcha bowl / "Unkin" Kutani-yaki

Please note, this item is a unique piece.

Kutani-yaki matcha bowl with maple leaf and cherry blossom motif made by Yasokichi Tokuda IV (1961-), female ceramist in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture.

The traditional "Unkin" motif is composed of cherry blossoms to evoke clouds and maple leaves to represent brocade. It is a metaphorical expression, unique to the Japanese: it is said to originate from a phrase mentioned in a collection of waka (a genre of Japanese poetry) called Kokin Wakashu (the poetic monument of the Heian period).
At the twilight of autumn, the maple leaves along the Tatsuta River resembled, in the emperor's eyes, a piece of Japanese brocade; in the early morning of spring, the cherry blossoms at Yoshino, from the spirit of Hitomaro, were considered a flock of clouds.