Émigré Korean potters first founded the Satsuma kilns of southern Kyushu in the late 16th century. Catering to the tastes of tea masters of the time, they produced a variety of tea wares, most notably teabowls and caddies. This rare example was decorated with thick irregular swathes of black and white clay slip and green glaze. Its somber tones and irregular shape accord well with the "wabi" (imperfect or rustic) aesthetic championed by Japan's most renowned tea master, Sen-no-Rikyu (1521-1591).