Kuro Raku Chawan

Kuro-raku (黒楽) or black Raku is most famous style of Raku pottery. One of Japan's most recognisable ceramic traditions, Raku-yaki (楽焼) or Raku ware was developed by famous tea master Sen-no-Rikyū in the late 16th century. Perhaps inspired by the recently developed 引き出し黒 (hikidashi-guro) technique used to produce the Seto-guro style of black chawan, Rikyū collaborated with tile-maker Chōjirō 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 bisque-fired, glazed, and then fired individually or in small batches for a short amount of time at relatively low temperatures before finally being removed from the kiln while still glowing hot. The resulting bowls are very light and porous - imperfect in both shape and construction. Unlike porcelain or high-fired stoneware bowls which produce a high-pitched, bell-like ring when tapped, raku bowls are so low-fired that they only produce a dull thud.

The vast majority of raku chawan are made in the hantsutsu-gata shape, and are generally circular, with naturalistic imperfections, rather than intentional distortions.

Originally, raku chawan were always undecorated, as, in Rikyū’s eyes, decoration is an unnecessary artifice that distracts from the pure elegance of raku bowls’ simplicity. Today, however, it is not uncommon to find painted or otherwise decorated raku chawan.

When first made, these bowls may have been called Juraku-yaki (聚楽焼) as they were fired on the grounds of Hideyoshi’s Jurakudai palace (聚楽第). Hideyoshi gave both the wares the seal of ‘Raku’ (楽) meaning ‘enjoyment, and gave this name to Chōjirō himself as well. The descendants of Chōjirō continue to bear the family name Raku and still produce raku chawan to this day.

It is worth noting that ‘raku’ in the realm of western ceramics arts, refers to a derivative, but separate practice.

The organic shapes, rough textures, and natural imperfections of this style made Raku pottery almost synonymous with wabicha and the later term "wabi-sabi".

Pictured here is Omokage (面影), one of the original Kuro-raku chawan.

Because of their porosity, raku chawan are very 'soft' and delicate. Before its first use, we highly recommend soaking the entire piece in warm water for 30 minutes, allowing water to enter and tighten the gaps in the clay, before air drying it completely. For additional strengthening, rice water (the cloudy water left when washing rice) can be used, with the tiny rice particles helping fill the gaps in the clay. Be sure not to let the bowl soak for too long as the clay might begin to soften.

For each subsequent use, soaking for a few minutes is all that is needed. At first the bowl will produce a clay odour, but this will disappear with time and repeated use.

Due to their porous nature, raku chawan should only be used for preparing matcha and not for holding any type of food.