A few of us had a conversation last night discussing whether or not the fukugata is actually glazed because of differences in color on the surface of the pot:
I sent Rishi a concerned email, and received the reply just now. I thought I'd post it for everyone to see.
Dear Fatalitatious Dynasty Ruler,
Thank you for contacting us! You are correct the Fukugata is an unglazed teapot. In areas that look "unglazed", the clay was not exposed to oxygen upon firing, thereby not producing the red patina that you see on the rest of the teapot. The rest of the teapot looks glazed because of the reaction of the particular type of clay with oxygen at high temperatures when fired in a kiln. On the lid and where the lid touches the body of the pot, the teapot has been smoothed, by grinding, so that the lid will fit the teapot. When the teapots are fired they expand with the heat and contract when they cool. Sometimes they do not do so evenly, bringing about the need to grind down the area a bit, where the lid touches the teapot. You may see a fine dust inside the teapot when you first open it because of this same reason. The bottom of the teapot was not exposed when firing, as it sat inside the kiln, and you may see the same effect on the inside of the spout if not enough oxygen reached inside at a high enough temperature.
