Wooden mold, auspicious carp (medetai)

Mitsu Kazuhiro×UNGAPLUS

Otaru's Kutani ware was born from wooden molds for dried sweets. Among the items that the owners of the Kitamae-bune ships were enchanted with and brought to the north was Kutani ware. Kutani ware originated in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, where many Kitamae-bune ship owners resided. Many Kutani ware pieces, likely brought by the Kitamae-bune ships at the time, remain in Otaru, and their splendor speaks to the lifestyles of the Kitamae-bune ship owners and their generous investment in art. UNGAPLUS commissioned Mitsu Kazuhiro, who studied Kutani ware in Ishikawa Prefecture and is currently active in Otaru, to create the "OTARU -KUTANI" series using wooden molds for dried sweets and paints used in Kutani ware. This celebratory object (comes in a box) features a red sea bream, a traditional dried sweet used at celebratory occasions. This playful, original UNGAPLUS piece is a must-have.

Kutani ware was one of the things that the Kitamae-bune ship owners were fascinated by and brought with them to the north. Kutani ware is a type of pottery that originated in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, where many Kitamae-bune ship owners lived. Many Kutani ware pieces that were likely brought on the Kitamae-bune ships at the time remain in Otaru, and their splendor speaks to the lifestyle of the Kitamae-bune ship owners and their generous investment in art.

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It will be delivered in an original gift box inspired by the pure white sails of a Kitamae ship.

[About Kutani ware]
Kutani ware originated in the early Edo period under the rule of Maeda Toshiharu, the first lord of the Daishoji domain, when pottery stone, the raw material for porcelain, was discovered in the village of Kutani within the domain during mining development. This type of pottery is also known as "Daishoji ware" in addition to "Kutani ware."

The Kutani ware produced during this period later came to be known as "Old Kutani," and its unique style, such as "Aote," which uses striking green paint and vividly covers the entire vessel ("Nuri-fill"), leaving almost no white space on the base, and "Iro-e," which depicts the motif of the work in a pictorial and realistic style and applies thick layers of five colors known as the "Kutani Five Colors" - red, yellow, green, purple, and indigo - has earned it high artistic acclaim and continues to fascinate many people today.

Although the kilns of Ko-Kutani ceased production after 50 to 60 years of operation, the techniques were passed down locally, albeit in small ways, and Ko-Kutani was revived in the territories of the Daishoji and Kaga domains in the late Edo period. Kutani ware from this period is known as the "Resurrected Kutani."

From the Meiji to the early Showa era, pottery craftsmen became independent, and thanks to the Meiji government's promotion of industry, the export industry of Kutani ware flourished. However, after the Meiji Restoration, pottery makers lost support from their domains and began to find their own way forward. Craftsmen from the former Daishoji domain improved the quality of their works and transformed from artisans to artists, while craftsmen from the former Kaga domain began to produce large quantities of red-painted Kutani ware for sale in Europe and the United States.

Since then, Kutani ware has established itself as a brand of traditional fine arts and crafts, and has come to be produced as "artworks" that transcend the boundaries of "crafts." Today, a wide variety of designs are produced, from items for everyday use to those that decorate special occasions.