Ceramic vessels are a craft closely associated with daily life.
Simple vessels with no fancy decorations are minimalist and beautiful, but on the other hand, those that have been delicately decorated become special and attached to you as you use them.
The most popular decoration technique for ceramics is painting. This method involves drawing pictures on the body of vessels using paints and brushes and firing the vessels to fix the pictures, but various other decorative techniques have been developed over a long history.

For example, the pale pattern on the ceramic with a lid in the image appears to have been painted with a brush, but this is not painted on. This was decorated with a traditional technique called zōgan (inlaying).
The surface of the vessel is carved with a blade, and another piece of clay is inlaid into the concave area to create the design.
This ceramic with a lid, made by contemporary makers Mr and Mrs Michihiro and Kumiko Domoto (who live in Fukui Prefecture), follows the style known as “Koryo (Goryeo) inlaid celadon,” which dominated the Korean ceramic art world from the 12th to 14th centuries.

Ceramics is a craft genre that has not only copied the techniques of its predecessors, but has also made repeated progress, as if practising the phrase “learning from the past”. Based on the techniques created by its predecessors, it has survived by incorporating regional and historical characteristics.
This ceramic with a lid also reflects the production environment of Mr and Mrs Domoto, while utilising the delicacy and elegance of Koryo inlaid celadon. The authentic Koryo celadon would have a bluish-grey ground colour, but the use of clay from the Domotos’ home region of Echizen (Fukui) gives it a gentle grey finish. Compared to Koryo celadon inlays, which are elegant but have a slightly hard impression, the Domotos’ works have a soft and friendly impression.

It is sometimes said that fashion repeats its trends every 20 years.
I think this means that designs that were popular in a certain period will be revived after about 20 years from a new perspective, and something similar may be said about the world of craft design.
It has been more than 700 years since the time when Koryo inlaid celadon was invented. Even if the same techniques are followed, if the makers living today use local clay and make full use of their own sensibilities, the ceramics can take on a new life as something clad in a new sensibility and aesthetic sense.

And just as fashion items make sense when they are worn, it is important for vessels to be used.
At first glance, this ceramic with a lid looks old-fashioned, but there is no need to worry about etiquette when using it or to limit the occasions on which it is used. It is important to use it in your own way.
By fitting it into your daily life in this way, the role of the vessel will be realised to the fullest and its charm will be further enhanced.