Cheek Armor Cup, Man-Tiger Form, Gold

This work updates the tiger-shaped form from Koga's signature Hoyoroi-hai series — a vessel meant to be worn. It embodies the tiger's characteristic image of opening its mouth to intimidate, while also incorporating human elements into the tiger, and is named "Man-Tiger Form."
The tea ceremony, a comprehensive Japanese art that developed as a cultivation of the samurai class. Sake vessels developed in that same lineage, as vessels for kaiseki cuisine. This work weaves together the histories of the tea ceremony, Sengoku warlords, and craft, expressing them as art.
Koga sees the present as an age of gekokujo (the low overthrowing the high). Even in an uncertain era, he believes that with the will and resolve to open up the times, one can rise to prominence regardless of origin. Taking as its motif the intimidating hoate (cheek armor) worn by Warring States warlords, this piece expresses the human way of life and spirit. It carries encouragement for today's high-minded warriors.
Among the many works in the Hoyoroi-hai series, this piece takes the legendary Sengoku warlord Takeda Shingen, foremost among his peers, as its theme, drawing inspiration from his epithet, "Tiger of Kai."