Large Square Asabachi Bowl by Giran Sagawa

Ibaraki based ceramicist Giran Sagawa specialises in geometric slipware.

These square plates are small canvases for his hand drawn pattern work.

Showing some of the influence of British ceramic styles on Japanese ones down the years, Sagawa takes the application of slip (a thick clay slurry for decoration) to ceramics in a more contemporary direction.

Hinting sometimes at graffiti in his pattern work, the potter has also carved an interlocking design on the base of each piece.

Available in several glaze shades, each piece is handmade, and therefore unique in its variations.

The squares are 13cm x 13cm with a diagonal width for 15.cm. They are 2cm high.

About Giran Sagawa

One of the emerging generation of potters in the Kasama region, Giran Sagawa focuses his work on slipware. A style with history in the UK, Sagawa is part of a contemporary revival movement for slipware pottery in Japan. In this work he applies a careful geometry, and at times graffiti like influences. The outcome are ceramics which are thought-out and satisfying to use. He also makes a popular series of mugs, stable in their construction, and well-fitting to the hand. These are often patterned with striped blocks of colour which accords with a another recent trend in Japanese ceramics. Sagawa calls these earth colours, reflecting the controlled appearance of nature within his work.