Japanese Ash-Glaze Leaf Plate with Three Feet
Inspired by the quiet elegance of nature, this leaf-shaped plate by Kyoto ceramic artist Yuichi Ikai embodies the beauty of restraint. Its softly irregular silhouette and delicately notched rim evoke the organic outline of a fallen leaf, while the hand-carved lines across the surface recall the gentle rhythm of leaf veins.
A green ash glaze in a muted blue-green settles across the textured surface, revealing subtle tonal shifts, iron speckles, and softly darkened edges where the glaze thins. These natural variations are an inherent part of the firing process, ensuring that no two pieces are exactly alike. Resting on three small feet, the plate appears to float lightly above the table, adding a sense of refinement while making it equally suited for everyday dining or thoughtful presentation.
Like much of Ikai’s work, the piece celebrates the dialogue between craftsmanship and nature, where asymmetry, texture, and the marks of the maker become part of its enduring beauty.
Each piece is individually handcrafted, making every plate one of a kind with natural variations in glaze, texture, and form that celebrate the uniqueness of the ceramic process.
Dimensions: approx. W 8.25" x L 4.25" x H 1"
Handcrafted in Kyoto, Japan.
About Yuichi Ikai: Kyoto ceramic artist Yuichi Ikai carries forward the rich legacy of Kyoto ware through a practice deeply rooted in tradition while guided by his own quiet aesthetic. Born into a family of pottery merchants in Kyoto's historic Gojozaka district—the heart of Kyoto's ceramic culture—Ikai grew up immersed in the world of clay before dedicating himself to becoming a maker. He trained at Kyoto's leading ceramic institutions and apprenticed under Living National Treasure Uichi Shimizu, later establishing Kihei Kiln (Kihei-gama) in 1984. Today, he serves as a director of the Kyoto Ceramic Art Association and is recognized as a full member of the Japan Kogei Association.
Working primarily with ash glazes, celadon, iron glazes, and white slip, Ikai creates vessels that embody the quiet elegance of everyday use. His work is characterized by restrained forms, subtle kiln effects, and surfaces that reveal the dialogue between clay, ash, and fire. Rather than seeking dramatic expression, his ceramics invite a slower appreciation, where beauty emerges through balance, warmth, and sincerity.
Ikai often speaks of pottery as the culmination of three elements: the sensibility he cultivated growing up in Kyoto's Gojozaka, the encounters with people and experiences throughout his life, and the techniques inherited from generations of master potters. Through refining these influences, he has developed an aesthetic that is distinctly his own. As he writes, "The message lies within. Each work reflects the 'present' moment in which it was created." His ceramics are not only vessels for use, but quiet expressions of time, memory, and the enduring spirit of Kyoto craftsmanship.
