Kohiki bowls have a white slip applied over a dark body, producing a soft white surface. The slip is applied more evenly than in hakeme bowls, giving a calmer appearance. The gentle, well-mannered white makes them easy to combine through all four seasons.
History
They belong to the buncheong lineage of the Joseon dynasty and came to Japan in quantity from the Momoyama period onward. Practitioners valued them for arrangements taking snow or the moon — anything white — as a theme, and domestic kohiki has been made at Karatsu, Satsuma, and in Kyoto.
Types
The evenness of the slip, the degree to which the body shows through, and the way the glaze sits are the points of interest. With age the slip crazes and the body shows through more, and that development is part of the appeal.
In practice
Kohiki is the most broadly usable of the Korean-lineage bowls, which makes it a common second bowl for a practitioner after a Raku or Karatsu.
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
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