The set came from a dealer in Japan, and was listed as 1930's Bizen. Since I know far more about Yixing clay than I do about Japanese clay types, I'm not sure about the clay. Most Bizen ware I've seen has a far rougher texture, and the splotches of color on the outside of this set looks more like a purposeful glazing technique than random changes from the kiln as you'd see in Bizen ware. In the second photo below, you can see there is a very definite line of glazing on the inside of the pot wall.
The style of the pot is familiar to me, however. The general pot shape, the fat canon spout, the flattened disc-shaped knob on the lid, the longer clay "skirt" on the inside of the lid, the air hole being located right in the center of the knob, and the flat spout filter inside all remind me of Yixing teapots which were exported to Japan in the 1930's.
As far as the construction, the pot is almost certainly wheel thrown, as there are very even concentric lines both inside and outside of the pot. The unglazed clay does look very similar to Yixing clay to me, except for being wheel thrown. Despite having a slightly loose lid fit, the pot doesn't drip and the water flow will stop when the lid hole is covered.
The pot, the cups, and the water cooling bowl all have chops on the bottom, but I can't make heads or tails of them. The style looks more like Japanese kanji than Chinese script to my untrained eye, but I really have no idea. (Honestly, I'm not even sure I posted the photo right side up.) One odd thing about the set is that the teapot holds 70ml, yet the water cooling pitcher only holds about 30ml. Not sure why that would be.
So, any info or theories out there? Is it a Japanese take on a Chinese gongfu set? Perhaps it was meant for the senchado ceremony, but used theYixing style of the day as inspiration? Any information helps!
