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Raku is a low-fired ceramic ware
first produced by the Raku family in the 16th century in Kyoto. The first generation of this family dynasty,
Sasaki Chojiro (1516-1592), crafted a style of tea ceremony bowl
which was very much unlike the colorful Chinese-influenced ceramics of
the time. His tea bowls were mostly monochrome black or red and
devoid of any decoration or sense of movement. They were produced
with the encouragement and patronage of a close friend, tea master Sen no Rikyu,
who felt that they embodied the aesthetics of his wabi-cha tea
philosophy.
Today, within the Kyoto environs, there remains quite a large number of
ceramic artists who continue firing tea bows in the style pioneered by
Chojiro centuries earlier.
Tozan Wada is one that stands out among them. An accomplished ceramic artist with over a decade of
experience firing in the raku style, he has
developed a unique approach that emphasizes, first and foremost, a vessel's
form over any other element. He believes that, in the absence of
images or other embellishments, it is a raku bowl's shape that provides
the first visual clue; color and texture are secondary. So when
first impressions are usually made in an instant, the shape of the bowl
has to be immediately compelling. As a result, forming becomes a
mental endeavor that requires tremendous focus. Once the basic
shape is made and the bowl is dried, it is slowly carved, bit by bit,
into a vessel that manifests perfectly the shape that Mr. Wada has in
his mind. The process can take several days to finish.
This remarkable tea ceremony bowl (chawan) exemplifies Tozan Wada's
unique approach to raku. A sense of strength is immediately
perceptible in its squared, cylindrical body, yet restrained by the
gentle curvatures around the rim. Grace and balance are conveyed
at the base where the weight of the bowl comes to rest squarely upon a well
crafted footring. The glaze, in turn, adds both warmth and depth
to its overall character.
The bowl is formed entirely by hand from a single ball of clay and then fired in a special
raku kiln located on the grounds of
Oizumi-gama. As this type of kiln cannot reach the high
temperatures that give stoneware its strength and durability, raku bowls
are naturally lightweight and quite delicate, reflecting the Zen
principle of impermanence which is at the heart of Rikyu's philosophy.
For more information Tozan Wada's raku, please click
here.
A wooden presentation box will be custom made to order and signed by
the artist. Delivery time for this item is 2 weeks.
A fukusa (display cloth) is included.
special care instructions
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