Cheek Armor Cup, Skull Form, Gold

Chanoyu, the tea ceremony, developed as a comprehensive Japanese art tied to samurai refinement. Sake vessels developed as kaiseki tableware inheriting that lineage.
Of this piece, Koga says it is "a porcelain sake cup in the form of hoate (cheek armor), a form that emerges inevitably from the close ties between the tea ceremony, the Warring States warlords, and craft — ceramics in particular." As social media has developed, the present era has become one in which anyone can wield influence — an age of gekokujo, as Koga sees it. "If you have the will and resolve to open up the era, you can rise regardless of your origin." Through making {Hoyoroi Sakazuki}, Koga continues to send encouragement to today's high-minded warriors.
This piece is also inspired by Oda Nobunaga.
Drawing on his charisma and grim-reaper-like reputation, this work adopts the skull — a symbol of death — while imagining his appreciation for exotic, flower-like culture, with an eye also toward decorative quality.