Soma Ware Yunomi Pair, Large and Medium, Gift Boxed

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
- Pair of double walled yunomi, one large, one medium, presented together in a wooden gift box

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.

Matsunaga Kiln's own line runs back to its first generation, Kanpei, who opened the kiln in the Genroku era; the fifth generation, Masata, discovered a new glaze in 1873 and made his own mark on Obori's ceramic history, and the kiln was reopened by his descendant Shigeo in 1910 after a period of closure. The 2011 disaster forced an evacuation that closed the original Namie workshop entirely; Matsunaga Kiln worked from Nasu, Tochigi, for a time before building a new workshop in Nishigo Village, Fukushima, in April 2014, where it continues today.

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. Sold as a pair rather than a matching set, one cup slightly larger than the other, the two are presented together in their own wooden box, which makes them as suited to two people sharing a pot at different tastes for how much they pour, as to sitting side by side on a shelf when not in use.