Redesign of Kurojyoka Vasa Potoria by Yuki Ijichi

Redesign of Kurojyoka Vasa Potoria by Yuki Ijichi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Praemium A' Design Award Aureum in Instrumenta Culinae Competition Category.

AurumInstrumenta Culinae· 2025

Redesign of Kurojyoka Vasa Potoria

by Yuki Ijichi

Client: MATHERuBA

Praemium A' Design Award Aureum Winner in Instrumenta Culinae Category

61,399

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #164307

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Redesign of Kurojyoka Vasa Potoria

Haec est renovatio kurojyoka, vasis ceramici traditi Kagoshimensis ad shochu, ut modernis vitae rationibus conveniat. Kurojyoka tradita formata est ratione systematis calefactionis foci Japonici, formaque eius immutata permansit licet vitae rationes mutatae sint. Hoc opus continuatio est culturae shochu Kagoshimensis atque artificii traditi, quo aspectu mutato kurojyoka renovatur ut modernis vitae rationibus aptetur.

The Recognition

About the Praemium A' Design Award Aureum

Redesign of Kurojyoka Vasa Potoria victor est Praemii A' Design Award Aureum, honoris amplissimi formis primi ordinis, mirabilibus et praestantibus dati. Victores Aurei sunt opera valde nova, provida et splendida, quae ingenium, sapientiam et peritiam auctorum suorum referunt. Exspectatur Redesign of Kurojyoka Vasa Potoria inventum laudatissimum, inclinationes creans et monumentale fore, quod pretium inauditum afferat. Haec forma Aureo praemio victa est incepto mirabile et honoratum, quod fines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae promovet. Redesign of Kurojyoka Vasa Potoria cupiditatem vehementem excitat, studium accendit, ingenium creandi fovet et capit.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This is a redesign of the Kurojyoka, a traditional Kagoshima ceramic earthenware teapot for shochu, to fit modern lifestyles. The traditional Kurojyoka was shaped based on heating in a Japanese hearth, and the Satsuma ware craftsmen did not revise the Kurojyoka to fit their changing lifestyles, but this project is characterized by its sublimation into a modern Kurojyoka by revising this aspect of the project. The fact that the shape has been modified for the modern age.
Dimensions & Packaging: Kurojyoka, Width 120mm x Depth 146mm x Height 160mm
Cup, Width 75mm x Depth 75mm x Height 45mm
Warmer, Width 114mm x Depth 102mm x Height 63mm
Pitcher for Maewari, Width 80mm x Depth 84mm x Height 205mm
Tags: Product Design, Redesign, Tableware, Sakeware, Kurojoka, Kurojoka6442, Satsuma ware, Earthenware shochu teapot
Production Technology: The redesigned Kurojyoka has a mass produced design so that it can be used as a modern earthenware teapot for shochu and as an everyday household item for enjoying shochu. It is made using casting molding, a technique for mass producing ceramics, in which muddy ceramic clay is poured into a plaster mold.
The material is porcelain, which is durable and can be used for commercial purposes.
The glaze uses shirasu from the Shirasu Plateau, a characteristic of Kagoshima's soil, with the aim of it becoming an everyday household item made from local materials.
Design Challenge: In redesigning the Kurojyoka, we tried to make it a mass production type for easy general use, but there was a difficulty in that Kagoshima does not have mass production technology. Therefore, we asked a Nagasaki potter with mass production technology to manufacture the product, but used Kagoshima materials for the glaze, thereby creating a Kurojyoka with elements of the production area.
Inspiration: The project began with a request from MATHERuBA, which operates a cafe and store in Kagoshima, to redesign the Kurojyoka, a traditional Kagoshima porcelain earthenware teapot for shochu, to suit modern lifestyles and create an original product.
We therefore researched the origin of the shape of Kurojyoka for shochu traditionally used in Kagoshima, and found design inspiration in the abacus shape described in literature, which we redesigned into a shape that fits today's lifestyle.
Project Duration: The project began in Kagoshima in February 2018 and ended in November 2019 and has been sold.
Image Credits: Image #1 : Photographer Masahiko Kukiyama
Image #2 : Photographer Masahiko Kukiyama
Image #3 : Photographer Masahiko Kukiyama
Image #4 : Photographer Masahiko Kukiyama
Image #5 : Photographer Masahiko Kukiyama