Soma Ware Double Walled Mug

At a glance

- Obori Soma ware (大堀相馬焼), a nationally designated traditional craft; Matsunaga Kiln, Fukushima Prefecture, founded circa 1700 in the Genroku era (1688 to 1704)
- Hashirigoma (走り駒), a running horse painted in the Kano school style, always facing left, said to mean there is no one who can outdo it, a mark of good fortune carried through 300 years
- Genuinely double walled; small round windows cut into the lower band reveal the hollow gap between the inner and outer wall
- Approx. dia. 8.4 x 8.8cm, 150ml

Obori Soma ware is a nationally designated traditional craft, founded around 1700 in the Genroku era (1688 to 1704) by a domain retainer's servant named Sama, with support from the Soma clan; at its peak the tradition supported more than 100 kiln households in what is now Namie, Fukushima. Two features mark it out from anywhere else: aohibi (青ひび), a fine blue crackle across a celadon like glaze, and hashirigoma (走り駒), a running horse painted in the classical Kano school style.

The kiln itself traces back to Kanpei, who founded it in the Genroku era; five generations later, Masata discovered a new glaze in 1873, and the line was reopened by descendant Shigeo in 1910 after a gap. More recently, the 2011 disaster closed the original Namie site for good, and Matsunaga Kiln rebuilt first from Nasu, Tochigi, then permanently in Nishigo Village, Fukushima, from April 2014.

The horse faces left by tradition, said to mean there is no one who can outdo it, a mark of good fortune this craft has carried since the Genroku era. This one carries its double wall openly: a band of small round windows is cut into the lower half, showing the hollow gap between inner and outer wall rather than hiding it, proof of the construction rather than a claim on a label.