Blue Yuteki Tenmoku Kiyomizu-yaki Senchawan - 50ml
Tanaka EikōThis stunning Kiyomizu-yaki senchawan (sencha cup) is glazed in an entrancing blue yuteki tenmoku glaze. Yuteki (油滴 - oil-spot) is one of the most popular style of tenmoku glazes, consisting of silvery spots of iron crystals suspended on a blue or black backdrop, like oil on water.
With a classic tulip shape and a modest 50ml capacity, this cup is ideal for savouring high-grade sencha, though can be used for any purpose.
Kiyomizu-yaki (清水焼) (also called Shimizu-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery that traditionally comes from the Gojōzaka district near Kiyomizu Temple, in Kyoto, Japan. A subset of Kyo-yaki which refers to all pottery made in the Kyoto area, Kiyomizu ware has been produced since the 16th century
The term 'tenmoku' can refer to two things: the shape of a bowl, i.e. conical with a finger groove and flare at the lip; and a dark high-iron glaze that can produce various beautiful effects under the right firing conditions. Both of these originated in Jian ware from Fujian during the Song dynasty (960-1279) in China, where the dark colour of the glaze was praised for the way it contrasts nicely with the froth of whisked tea.
While most Tenmoku glazes are a simple black, occasionally the glaze recipe and the conditions in the kiln are just right, causing the ash in the glaze to separate from the iron in a way that produces beautiful metallic effects, such as the one seen on this cup, called 'yuteki', meaning 'oil-spot'.
This cup was made by Tanaka Eikō (田中永嵩). Born in 1950, Tanaka-san specialises in yuteki tenmoku wares.
Made in Japan. Ships from the United States.
Width: 7.5 cm (3 in)
Height: 4.5 cm (1.8 in)
Capacity: 50 ml
Kiyomizu-yaki (清水焼) (also called Shimizu-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery that traditionally comes from Gojōzaka district near Kiyomizu Temple, in Kyoto, Japan. A subset of Kyo-yaki which refers to all pottery made in the Kyoto area, Kiyomizu ware has been produced since the 16th century
As one of the oldest styles of tea bowl, tenmoku (天目) are considered the most formal and revered tea bowls. Despite being known by their Japanese name, the original Tenmoku bowls came from Song Dynasty China (960–1279). When Japanese monks visited the Buddhist temples of Tian Mu Mountain (天目山 - tian mu zhan in Chinese) and learned about Chinese whisked tea culture, they brought some of their shallow, conical, black-glazed bowls back to Japan, calling them 天目 after the mountain where they encountered them. In modern Japanese, these characters are read as 'tenmoku' which is where we get the name. The original tenmoku bowls are all relatively consistent in shape and size. They have a deep, conical shape with a groove around the lip, and a small foot.
The term 'tenmoku' can be confusing, as it has referred to different aspects of these bowls over the centuries. Originally, 'tenmoku'-style bowls were referred to as chasan (茶盞), with the most esteemed of these being the kensan (建盞): bowls fired in Jianyian Kiln in Fujian. These kensan were further classified into three main glaze types:
-Nogime (禾目- hare’s fur): the most common; streaks of blue or rust red
-Yuteki (油滴 - oil-spot): small spots against a dark backdrop
-Yōhen (曜変- glittering change): large silvery spots surrounded by iridescence
The next category of chasan after kensan were the tenmoku: a term originally used to refer to bowls that were like kensan but fired in other kilns in China (or even Japan).
However, over time, the terms evolved and now tenmoku is used as the standard term for all of these conical, dark-glazed bowls, and any bowls made in this style. Confusingly, in addition to the original chawan and imitations of them, the term tenmoku can also refer solely to the shape of these bowls, or their various beautiful, metallic glazes.
