Japanese Matcha Bowl - 大樋長楽 Ohi Chōraku - Ohi-yaki Raku Chawan - 200ml

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  • Vintage. Made in Japan
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This handbuilt Ohi-yaki (大樋焼) raku chawan (matcha bowl) features a lustrous burnt orange 'candy glaze' with subtle variations. Candy glaze, or ame-yu (飴釉) in Japanese, is a high-iron glaze known for its delightful variations and unevenness in colour and texture, getting its name from its overall caramel colour. Early examples of this glaze style date back to the Kamakura period.

The lip has pronounced undulations, while the carving of a slight waist gives the bowl a dojimari shape.


This bowl was made by ceramic artist Ohi Chōraku (大樋長楽), [1902-1991]. Chōraku was the 8th generation of the Ohi Chozaemon, the family who were the progenitors of Ohi-yaki.


Like all raku chawan, this bowl was handbuilt rather than thrown on a wheel. Handbuilding (or handforming, called tebineri (手びねり) in Japanese) refers to pottery made by hand either through coiling or carving, which leaves subtle imperfections from the idealised circular form. The gentle unevenness and asymmetry that results gives Raku chawan a warm, organic feel, exuding the Japanese spirit of wabi-sabi. Glazed in simple black or red, and made roughly cylindrical in shape, these bowls captured the essence of Rikyu’s pared-down style of tea and marked the dawn of a new age in aesthetics, dictated for the first time by domestic Japanese wares rather than imported goods. without the use of a high-speed pottery wheel (instead using a low-speed hand spun wheel).

One of Japan's most recognisable styles, Raku Chawan were developed by famous tea master Sen-no-Rikyu in the late 16th century. Perhaps inspired by the recently created 引き出し黒 (hikidashi-guro) technique used to produce the Seto-guro style of black chawan, Rikyu collaborated with tile-maker Chojiro to produce a new style of ware for use in the tea ceremony. Hand-formed from porous clay rather than wheel-thrown, Raku chawan are then coated in a lead glaze, fired at low temperatures, and removed from the kiln while still glowing hot. Most Raku chawan exist in two styles: Aka-raku (red raku), and Kuro-raku (black raku).

Ohi-yaki (大樋焼) from Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, is an offshoot of Kyoto-based Raku-yaki, with the first Ohi potter being the son of Raku III and apprentice to Raku IV. The first Ohi kiln was opened in 1666, and for six generations made tea ware exclusively for the Maeda Clan, but since the 7th generation in the mid-to-late 19th century, began producing tea ware and other ceramics for the general public. As a descendant of Raku-ware, Ohi-yaki chawan are handbuilt without the use of a potters' wheel, either through coil-building or carving techniques.


Dimensions:

11.6cm (4.6in) - width
7.4cm (2.9in) - height
200ml - capacity

Condition: Good (cracked under glaze, please see photos. The exterior hairline crack goes through the inside, however it does not leak. There is another interior hairline crack photographed. Both cracks are covered by glaze yet subtle enough to run your fingernail through. We've confirmed with water sitting in the bowl for twenty minutes there is not a leak)

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