Hokujo Kyusu

This kyusu is a dream to hold and use.  I have said that I seem to be escalating the quality of the kyusu's a buy each time, and I am really not sure how much higher I can climb even though this was a rather affordable kyusu.   This is a wonderfully light piece of potter with a soft and delicate clay which I honestly say makes me think I am holding air, or really do not have a good grip on anything at all when I am holding this but looking somewhere else.



Larger than my Gyokko kyusu by at least double its size, it is just as light if not lighter.  It also has an incredibly fine sesame screen pictured below.  I wish I was making this up, but since purchasing this kyusu, I have only once used one of my other kyusu to brew sencha, even though I have made it a dozen or more times ( probably closer to two dozen times).




I could honestly rant and rave about this kyusu, some more, but I think the pictures more than do it justice.  I highly encourage everyone to look into some of these artisan Tokoname Kyusu.

Seigan Ao Tebineri Kyusu

Of all the pieces I have acquired this might be the one I am least happy with overall. I say that because it is almost unusable for its intended purpose. That being said amazing things happen on this piece in terms of glaze, and it is a pinch work piece, and I tend to favor the amazing textures of pinch work pieces. So in detail what are my problems with this piece?

Sadly all the problems are near impossible to see from the photos. The first of all being its Gargantuan size in terms of kyusu's. I mean I have a penchant for large kyusu's but this one is holds roughly 20 oz or more.

Second is the filter has incredibly large holes even for a Hagi Kyusu, and I often joke that when I use this kyusu I am having a salad with my tea (and I only brew Asamushi in this kyusu). Besides that possibly due to the fact that it is in the first few of a new style of Kyusu he was creating, but the spout is poorly formed and dribbles down the front unless I turn it so the spout is practically vertical.

Not to mention in my opinion the inside glazing looks incredibly sloppy, and almost unfinished or so in parts. To me it seems almost a bit sloppy in its overall presentation and usability. So for the most part this stays mostly on the shelf, which while it is not so bad to look at, I really wish I could use it more often.