Brushed Small Footed Cup Sai Ryūki

This small-footed cup by Sai Ryūki in Kyoto features a hakeme pattern. Hakeme, a technique in which a coarse brush is drawn through thick white slip, creates a textured surface that adds depth and character. Its size makes it well suited for sipping sake.

Born in 1986 in Kyoto, Sai studied at the Faculty of Environmental Design at Osaka Sangyō University, graduating in 2009. He completed the ceramics course at the Kyoto City Institute of Technology and Industry in 2010, followed by studies at the Kyoto Prefectural Technical College of Ceramics in 2013. After graduating, he apprenticed with contemporary ceramic artist Kondō Takahiro and established his own practice in 2019.

Sai’s work is inspired by Joseon ceramics, reflected in his use of decorative techniques such as kohiki (when white slip is applied to a clay body and covered with a translucent glaze), hakeme, and mishimade (a technique in which patterns are incised into the clay and filled with white slip).

As each piece is handmade, there might be individual differences.

Approx φ9.5 x 6.5 cm

Kansai

The Kansai region includes the second-most populated metropolitan area in Japan with its largest city Osaka. Kyoto and Nara, two of Japan’s former capital cities, are home to important temples and shrines and strongholds of intangible cultural heritage, such as the Kyoto textile weaving skills of Nishijin.