The unofficial/official HAGI topic!

[Chip]

Heh, thanks Drax, Stentor, Ian ... Hagi gyokuro sets are quite awesome.

[Victoria]

I got a chance to take some photos today. I wanted to share how quickly my new straw-ashes glaze Deishi cup has changed. I don't remember any cup changing this dramatically, this fast.

[laura99]

Very nice Victoria!

[debunix]

I got a chance to take some photos today. I wanted to share how quickly my new straw-ashes glaze Deishi cup has changed. I don't remember any cup changing this dramatically, this fast.

You inspired me to check out my Sansai Hagi today--the first shots on the top were from just 2 weeks ago, and it has only been used on 3 or so occasions since then. This is my first hagi--is this typical?

[Chip]

Sansai and white seem most apt to display the stained crackling earliest. It is not uncommon to see some staining after only one use. Yet other times it may take a while.

The norm is there is no norm. IMHO.

[debunix]

Doesn't really matter, of course, because it's simply gorgeous at every stage, and in fact might gain a lot of interest in those expanses of white from more defined staining.

[Drax]

Oooh, very neat! They really have started to change quickly...!

Meanwhile, on the newer side...

いただきました！！ I ordered a few cups from Zencha. After Chip posted the selections for OTTI 7 and 8, I browsed around the various sites and I just absolutely adored the look of this cup; it looked like a rough cut gem...







I've already completed the preparations and I'm already enjoying a fukamushi sencha with it. Mmmm.

And with the turn of the weather, you can see my Christmas cactus is *just* starting to bloom...!

[Victoria]

Wow, that's a beauty! Love it!

[debunix]

What a wonderful cup! So rough and blocky, like hewn from rock, and then that delicate glaze. Wow.

[laura99]

Very nice Drax!

I just received my Sansai Hagi last night, and used it all day today. I was shocked at how much it changed in just one day! My other Hagi took 3 months to show staining just in the very bottom of the cup.

I am going to try and get some decent shots of it tomorrow, my first few tries were pretty dismal .

[Chip]

Ohhh, the Noutomi Guinomi. Awesome piece Drax, that one has gotten a lot of looks around here.

Thanks for sharing Victoria, Debunix, and Drax.

[Drax]

Very nice Drax!

I just received my Sansai Hagi last night, and used it all day today. I was shocked at how much it changed in just one day! My other Hagi took 3 months to show staining just in the very bottom of the cup.

I am going to try and get some decent shots of it tomorrow, my first few tries were pretty dismal .

Woo hoo! Can't wait to see the pics

I took my shots late in the afternoon, so there wasn't a lot of good lighting. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. The outer surface of the cup has "ghostly" pockets of blue (to borrow a term from the recent SO cup), but the those didn't show up at all.

So I was wondering something about the clay. The cup I just posted has a clay of a gray-blue color. It was called 'aohagi' (ao being Japanese for blue-green). Seigan has used the term onihagi for those really ruddy clays (oni being Japanese for... well, a Japanese ogre or demon). Are these clays that the potters are just 'making up'? Or are they classic clays? Are there others?

[AdamMY]

So I was wondering something about the clay. The cup I just posted has a clay of a gray-blue color. It was called 'aohagi' (ao being Japanese for blue-green). Seigan has used the term onihagi for those really ruddy clays (oni being Japanese for... well, a Japanese ogre or demon). Are these clays that the potters are just 'making up'? Or are they classic clays? Are there others?

I think as with most pottery centers in Japan the clays can differ slightly but the main part of Hagi yaki is a sandy rough clay that is fired at a lower temp for a long time making it feel softer.

Now you brought up the whole Oni-hagi, Hime-hagi, and just plain Hagi debate. There are many artists that refer to their work as Oni-hagi which is supposed to be a rather rougher and sandy clay. Though I have seen several different pieces called Oni-hagi and not entirely sure there is a standard which flat out qualifies something as Oni-hagi. There is also Hime-hagi which is supposed to be hagi but ultra fine clay lacking a lot of the larger particles of sand. Then there is just plain hagi, which I guess should fall somewhere in between. But while there supposedly seems to be a guideline it seems to ultimately depend on what the artist wants to call the piece.

In my understanding when it is called aohagi it is referring to the blue glaze, meaning the glaze is blue.

[Drax]

In my understanding when it is called aohagi it is referring to the blue glaze, meaning the glaze is blue.

Hmm, interesting! Cute name, "hime" hagi, which is a term for a princess.

I had thought the same thing about 'aohagi' being for a blue glaze, but then I thought looking at this cup that it was actually talking about the clay. The clay itself seems blue-gray. Maybe it is just extremely thoroughly coated?

[Chip]

Heh, some of the Hagi SOs have been nicked "super oni-hagi" refering to the extreme sand/rough clay. Super ogre Hagi-s?