KO Kurawanka bowl, XS

Kurawanka bowls by Iwatemo are optimal for serving small dishes or for example cereal or porridge. The bowls, designed by the Japanese ceramic artist Kazuyoshi Osawa, are available in several sizes.

The ceramic bowls are made by hand, on the potter’s wheel, in the Iwate prefecture in Japan. The material, soft white clay, comes from the Kyusyu island located in southern Japan, and natural wood ash is used as glaze according to centuries-old Japanese production methods. Iwatemo porcelain dishes are fired 1.5 times longer than usual in order to increase their durability.

Due to the traditional manufacturing methods, each individual bowl will have unique marks and textures characteristic of hand-made ceramics. To emphasize this, the artisan has given the bowl a slightly rough surface. It may also, for example, have horizontal lines that are created by larger particles of clay when the item is shaped on the potter’s wheel or dark spots that can form in the kiln when iron particles in the ash glaze react with oxygen. These unique textures and details make Iwatemo ceramics uniquely beautiful examples of traditional Japanese artisanship.

Kazuyoshi Osawa

Iwatemo was established in 2016, when Finnish designers Ville Kokkonen and Harri Koskinen were invited to visit the Iwate prefecture in Japan, in order to get acquainted with the area’s traditional production methods. All Iwatemo products are produced in Iwate in collaboration with the Finnish designers and local artisans, using traditional techniques and materials typical of the area.