Raku

User avatar
Fuut
Vendor
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:31 am
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:34 pm

I would love to see everyone's teaware. Personally i love all of it, but i really love seeing more topics about all sorts of styles. My latest acquisition here is a utsushi, replica of Chōjirō's Toyobo. From memory the original is described as follows: "Vertical but not symmetrical walls. The shoulder goes to the koudai fluently where it sits on a slightly small foot (where the original was fired on rack of sorts with 4 distinct points of contact with the foot), this one i am showing has 3 marks. The rim is smooth but has many small indentations". I don't have any books ready but this is what i recall. This bowl although not very old, ±30 years orso, has been been extensively used and repaired.

Utsushi - Shoraku Sasaki (3rd)
a.png
b.png
c.png
Here i think its quite interesting, you can sort of deduce where the whisk has touched the glaze, the sides are slightly worn, but you can see the bottom, or valley has been touched significantly less than the interior walls. Worth noting is the kintsugi too, as some parts are slightly worn also where the red underlying layer of lacquer is starting to become visible (i'll see if i can catch that on photo..).
Last edited by Fuut on Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Fuut
Vendor
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:31 am
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:23 am

Maybe Rakuyaki isn't everyone choice, that's alright. I'll simply overflow this topic till someone feels the spark:)

I absolutely love the raku bowls i have, love holding them and inspecting them (as i'm not really a koicha drinker).

Here's a bowl by another artist who's quite well known; Rakunyu Yoshimura. This is quite different from general Raku in that its not red, aka or black, kuro (or a mix of those, with several techniques). I recall having read that the term "raku" was actually only applied to the first line of makers working in this kind of way, however nowadays i feel its applied to every piece of work created the way like the original line did it; in short that's not formed on a wheel and fired raku style (very short and at relatively low temperature).

Anyway here is the bowl:)
The attachment a.png is no longer available
The attachment b.png is no longer available
k.png
k.png (524.51 KiB) Viewed 9903 times
User avatar
Fuut
Vendor
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:31 am
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Thu Dec 21, 2017 10:01 am

Here's another of my closest treasures. A dignified pair of aka and kuro chawan. They both have their own box, and are boxed together in another one.

Made by Shoraku sandai, and what i specifically love about these types of bowls is that the glazes covers the koudai as well. They either glaze the foot and a small part of the 'shoulder' transparently, or together with the (color), of the rest of the bowl. Like i said, mostly this is black, red and more rarely a dark rugged brown.
a.jpeg
b.jpeg
c.jpg
AtlasRisen
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 9:16 pm

Tue Jan 02, 2018 8:12 pm

Very beautiful! I quite like the one by Utsushi - Shoraku Sasaki (3rd)
Here's mine by Shoraku III

User avatar
Elise
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 2:22 pm
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:00 am

really beautiful.
AtlasRisen
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 9:16 pm

Wed Jan 03, 2018 9:16 am

Thank You!

There's a certain thing I been wondering that I would like some thoughts on.

Do all of you soak your Raku-yaki in water for a bit before each use or have you noticed that does not matter much?
User avatar
debunix
Posts: 1812
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:27 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:28 pm

I've only used this chawan for Matcha, and with limited volumes of lower temperature water, haven't preheated it.

Image

I was given this one as a gift during my trip to Japan in October.

Here it is in use

Image
User avatar
Fuut
Vendor
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:31 am
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Mon Jan 08, 2018 2:41 pm

I'm very happy to see some people got inspired to join in! Love the pieces shown, compared to most of my rakuyaki (which is by Sasaki), the dimmer blacks are quite nice, and way different. (Most of), Sasaki's kuro seems to be more shiny.

Here's a kasé type raku bowl. I do not know the maker, but it has a signed lid/box and a signature. If someone recognizes it please enlighten me ;) Also this tea bowl is quite heavy, not like most raku.
a.jpg
b.jpg
c.jpg
For those experienced in kanji, the lid: http://glamdring.se/users/836dd999ea9d5 ... iv_lid.jpg
User avatar
d.manuk
Posts: 655
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:13 pm
Location: Dallas

Mon Jan 08, 2018 3:07 pm

How can I learn more about Japanese teaware and materials?
It's hard enough finding information about yixing clays and teapots, despite their popularity.
User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Mon Jan 08, 2018 3:23 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Jan 08, 2018 3:07 pm
How can I learn more about Japanese teaware and materials?
It's hard enough finding information about yixing clays and teapots, despite their popularity.
Stick around the forum and you will learn a lot, as there are many Japanese tea drinkers and teaware collectors here. Many of us were part of teachat.com and contributed a lot about Japanese teaware there. Eventually we will archive teachat at this site, so members can search teachat within TeaForum. In the meantime, I recommend you do searches within TeaForum, and at teachat as there is a treasure trove of over a decade of information over there.
User avatar
Fuut
Vendor
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:31 am
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Tue Feb 06, 2018 3:14 pm

Here's another utsushi (replica), tea bowl by the third Shoraku. The original was made by Koetsu Honami and was named Kaga (he is listed here: https://chano-yu.com/key-person-of-chanoyu/).

Now on first appearance this item compared to the original is very flashy, which is linked to what i mentioned before about some of the works and glazes by Sasaki, they tend to be somewhat flashy (and the real items are hundreds of years old, and have been extensively used by the original customer, which makes them differ and more bland). On further inspection though, this chawan is quite diverse is the multiple effects placed all around. Please see the following sides, and pay attention to the outline of the view, which is very different yet recognizable in appearance.

Image

Image

Image

Image

The darker marks and spots made by burning charcoal next to the bowl is generally not this excessive in execution. What makes this chawan interesting for me personally is the great amount of differing hues in the so called "fu" - the dark marks. I'm not entirely sure but my guess is that this bowl was fired multiple times after the initial glazing.

From Hibiki ann.
The areas of smoky black, which are hidden by the coating of white glaze, are known as FU, and are seen on traditional Aka-raku. FU is one of the color changes and it occurs when fired surrounded by BINCHOTAN charcoal produced from Japanese Ubame oak. In other words, it is the burn mark created by BINCHOTAN. The surface of Aka-raku is like canvas fabric and the unique black designs of BINCHOTAN appear during firing in the kiln. Superb FU depends on the quality of BINCHOTAN charcoal and the skill of the craftsman to control the kiln’s fire.
Image

And a very, very low koudai.

Image
Last edited by Fuut on Sun Jul 29, 2018 4:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
debunix
Posts: 1812
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:27 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:19 am

That is a very dreamy bowl. The embodiment of flames from the firing.
User avatar
Fuut
Vendor
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:31 am
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Sun Mar 25, 2018 7:51 am

Hi everyone. Its been a while since i just sat down quietly with the right state of mind to write and share something 8-) Its a beautiful today in the Netherlands, great weather - its like the first real day of spring.

I wanted to share another raku bowl, one that is quite special because of the chance effects that were set in the glaze. This bowl has quite the 'haki'. For which I'll quote someone from another forum who explained it to me once, albeit in a different setting (togosu - metal fittings for the making of koshirae, the formal fittings for japanese swords). Please read the following. The discussed item; a tsuba is a sword guard for a sword. Owari the province said fitting was made in.
Steve wrote:Haki is a Japanese term I have seen translated as "power," or "unbridled spirit." It is used (among other applications, I imagine) to describe works that are particularly expressive in terms of boldness. Early (pre-Edo) Owari tsuba, more than most, possess great haki. They are often large, with heavy, wide rims and sukashi walls, restrained tekkotsu, and bold, direct, symmetrical designs, exuding potent martial confidence. They are usually not "poetic" in the way Kyo-sukashi and Akasaka tsuba can be (often to the point of mawkishness, I think, but that's just me). Their forging and steel quality in general is said to be very high. Sasano called Owari sukashi tsuba the ultimate when it comes to guards expressing martial power and spirit in the eyes of the bushi of the time. And it is true, too, in my experience, that when one sees a great Owari tsuba from this period and of this size---in person---the effect is memorable in a way few other tsuba can match. For lack of a better term, they "pop" with boldness, making other tsuba around them lifeless and dull by comparison. Again, this effect may be hard to experience just from photos.

I would guess that the tsuba in question possesses significant haki, and that, in person, it dominates the space around it.
Though the setting is different the term can be applied to any object that has a presence.

Now to the bowl, it comes from the Komon-Do Kiln in Shimane prefecture, famous for its raku ware. It has quite the movement in the glaze, you can sort of imagine how the heat and flames danced around the bowl during firing. I think the first 3 photo's show the billowing shoulder the best, its not so symmetrical as some raku designs tend to be. It sort of flows like a wave around the curve. Anyway, I have started to like it ever more since acquiring it 8-)

±11.9 cm wide ±7.4 cm high

Image

Image

Image
The interior and then that beautiful koudai.

Image

Image
the lines that flow through the glaze here are quite unique, i haven't seen it ever before or since.
User avatar
steanze
Vendor
Posts: 985
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2017 4:17 pm
Location: USA

Thu Mar 29, 2018 12:07 am

Fuut wrote:
Sun Mar 25, 2018 7:51 am

I wanted to share another raku bowl, one that is quite special because of the chance effects that were set in the glaze. This bowl has quite the 'haki'. For which I'll quote someone from another forum who explained it to me once, albeit in a different setting (togosu - metal fittings for the making of koshirae, the formal fittings for japanese swords). Please read the following. The discussed item; a tsuba is a sword guard for a sword. Owari the province said fitting was made in.
Wonderful piece! I have a question about Raku that perhaps you can answer. I know that traditionally Raku glaze contained (and leeched) lead. Are contemporary potters still adding lead to their glazes? I have heard of some lead-free Raku, but I wonder whether that's how all Raku is made nowadays, or whether there are still many pieces with lead. Thanks!!
User avatar
steanze
Vendor
Posts: 985
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2017 4:17 pm
Location: USA

Thu Mar 29, 2018 12:14 am

And while I am at it, here is a little Raku guinomi...
raku_guinomi.jpg
raku_guinomi.jpg (136.46 KiB) Viewed 9418 times
raku_guinomi_2.jpg
raku_guinomi_2.jpg (146.39 KiB) Viewed 9417 times
Post Reply