Jirobo: Chojiro's Raku ware tea bowl and the tea ceremony tradition

Jirobo - Famous Ceramic Mugs/Cups

Jirobo is one of the first Raku ware tea drinking bowls that were created by Chojiro. Though there is no available dating for the piece, Tanaka Chojiro was alive from 1516-1592. His work was chosen as the new style that should be used in the traditional tea ceremonies of Japan in the late 1500s. Sen no Rikyu was the Tea Master for the Japanese Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

What you may notice about Raku ware is that it is uneven in appearance and it has a rough hewn look. The beauty of Raku ware was in the unfinished appearance, as it was supposed to represent simplicity. Redware and earthenware mediums were both used to produce this piece, both have a high sand content. It is glazed with a lead glaze. There is no other decoration or pattern, and it was molded entirely by hand and carving tools, there was no use of a wheel, as is the traditional way to make Raku ware. It was fired at low temperatures and taken from the fire while red hot to cool, which not only keeps the clay from fully hardening, but also creates a porous appearance on the piece.

This piece shows the Soeki nari (Soeki shape), which was the favorite of Sen no Rikyu. This shape sits on a narrow base with a generous well at the bottom of the vessel. The vessel then squeezes just slightly inward at the mid-point, and rounds outward again before the lip, which is slightly curved inward.

The back of the box that this tea bowl belongs in has an inscription written by Senso Shohitsu (1622-1697), youngest son of Japanese Tea Master Genpaku Sotan (1578-1658), who was the son of Sen no Rikyu. The inscription states that Senso received this bowl from his grandfather Rikyu. The box also bears the name of the piece.

To me this piece speaks volumes. The simplicity of the work combined with the deep set roots of the practice of the tea ceremony is exciting in a primal and familial way. When you can look back on such a tradition and find a piece that is essentially a cornerstone to the development of Raku ware as a cultural contribution, it's like inhaling air from the time of the ancients. When you look on this piece, you are looking at a tea bowl that was created by the father of the Raku style. This piece was created by the master of Raku for the Tea Master that made the style famous since the 16th century. This tea bowl was used by the very authority that wrote the rules of the tea ceremony for the time, and then he passed this bowl down to his grandson for the future members of his family.

This is not just an art work, nor is it just a ceremonial landmark, it is a piece of hand formed history that sits humbly in a glass case, a giant, though merely 8.4cm tall. The Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan holds this treasure safe for the future to see what the past has given us as the masters of Raku today still pay homage to their creator by functioning in the very same workspace with the very same tools that were essential to Chojiro hundreds of years ago.

As far as personal aesthetics goes, though I would not use such a piece in my own home to entertain, I can certainly appreciate the quiet and simple beauty in such a piece. In using the most simple ingredients to make the most simple vehicle to carry out the ceremonies has the same unspoken elegance of a plain biscuit with gravy. it's like visual comfort food.

Wide Mouthed Jar - Famous Ceramic Vessels

The Japanese Jomon vessels were very robust and had a solid structure, but they were definitely overshadowed by the Yayoi works that came about from 300 BC - 300 AD. These structures were more refined and attractive. The jar "Wide Mouthed Jar" that is on display in the Fukoka Art Museum, Japan, as part of their Important Cultural Property collection, is a fine example of the work of the Yayoi period. The shape is that of the abacus bead, and it is constructed of earthenware that is colored with red pigment.

The piece is of the Suku type produced in Kyushu, and it was excavated from Katsumoto-cho, Iki District of Nagasaki Prefecture. This piece is at the height of the style and was one of the best examples produced. When first observed it may seem that it is a very simple piece, but on closer inspection you see that there is so much more.

There are three flanges on the central area and there is one on the lower neck that brings together the entire composition. It has a generous belly, a narrow neck, and an extended rim that curves out from the neck. It has been brushed with a bamboo knife that is designed similarly to a spatula to achieve the vertical stripes. Overall though the piece is quite ancient, the work is very stylish and refined, and though the dark veins that travel through the piece are no doubt attributed to it's age, it gives it the appearance of overall life in the piece.

This is a first century work, it stands 42.4 cm high, and seems to exude a sense of refinement. It is a very attractive work that you would not expect to see from the hands of someone that operated over two thousand years ago. This work has shown me that you cannot underestimate the aesthetic qualities and cultural maturity of an ancient civilization simply because you cannot fathom the complexities of their culture.

Potters may have had several more obstacles to overcome in the creation of the pieces that they produced, but that did not mean that they would suffer at the hands of ignorance and laziness. The work that I have seen coming forth from this period is not just startling to my own perception of ancient civilizations, but I also find that it is enticing my hunger for more information concerning the histories of the cultures that produced these works. One does not need to know the people that produced a work to know that it is beautiful or that it speaks to them, but they do need to understand the people that delivered the piece in order to understand the technical hurdles and the meaning of the pieces on a cultural level.

It will never cease to amaze me that persons could turn out home use vessels such as these that we will honor as a piece of art until it returns to the dirt that it was constructed from. It really makes you realize that we are perhaps the most lazy society to have ever operated on this planet. When you consider that great works of art, the pieces that we are awestruck by in the museum, are the same pieces that the artisans created for household aids, it puts being annoyed that you have to go to the store to replace your Corningware on a whole new level.

Tanaka Chojiro - Korean Ceramic Artist

In the 1590s, Japanese Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea twice. When the army returned to Japan, they had brought with them several potters that contributed greatly to the history of Japanese ceramics.

Tanaka Chojiro is known to be the father of modern Raku ware. Raku ware is a simple style of tea bowls and dishes that are used in Japanese tea ceremonies. The forming and firing techniques of this tile maker were adopted as the most desirable by Shogun Hideyoshi's Tea Master, Sen no Rikyu for use in tea ceremonies in the 16th century. The name Tanaka was given to Chojiro by Sen no Rikyu for his contributions.

Tanaka Chojiro (1516-1592) was the son of another Korean tile maker named Ayeda, who had introduced the method of lead-based glaze and relatively low temperature firing to Chojiro. The first glazes were only of a dark brown or black color, and the pieces that can be directly attributed to Chojiro are highly valued in Japan, six of the pieces receiving their own name. These simple and heavy pieces fit in with what Rikyu saw as the perfect vessel to match his vision of the new, standardized, tea ceremony. Chojiro passed on his technique to his apprentice, Jokei, and it has since been handed down through fifteen generations.

The Raku pottery style would start with a local clay, and it would be molded entirely by hand, without use of a wheel. The piece would be a large vessel on a small base that was fired over a relatively low heat, and then taken from the fire while still red hot to halt the process. This would leave the piece not completely hardened and was a great insulator for the hot tea.

Tanaka Chojiro, for being such an important person in the history of both Korean potters, as well as Japanese culture, has surprisingly little information available about his life. It is interesting that the potter who is perhaps the most influential in all of Japanese culture has not been documented as such an honorable person would seem to deserve. Perhaps it is because of his Korean descent?

The current headship of the Raku family, Kichizaemon, continues to keep the home and studio, as well as the kiln of the Raku family as it has been for hundreds of years now. The home is still present across from the palace in Kyoto. The family still produces Raku ware for use in Japanese tea ceremonies in the same ancient technique.

To me this is a very appealing concept. I find it enchanting that the family of Chojiro, after most likely having been removed from his family in Korea, first honored before 1600 for his mastery of rustic, hand formed tea bowls in a style that was new to the Japanese culture, is still honored not only for his family, but also his life's work. This is a direct illustration of the concepts that are lost on most of today's societies, making it difficult to find present day examples of the traditions of ancient cultures. There is far too little tradition today, and centuries of work is far too important to set aside.

The only thing that has changed significantly since the time of Chojiro is the variety in the coloring of the glaze, the craftsmanship remains and will most likely be carried on for centuries more as long as capitalism and convenience remain at bay in modern-day ancient Japan.

Ancient Japanese Ceremonial Bowls

Raku ware is a style of tea bowl that is used in the Japanese tea ceremonies. It was developed in the 16th century, and made famous by Tea Master Sen no Rikyu, also commonly known as Soeki. The Tea Master was someone that was prolific in wabi or "the way of the tea." The tile maker that developed the Raku style was named Chojiro who worked closely under Sen no Rikyu, and was so beloved by him that he gave him the name of Tanaka. The Raku seal was a gift from Shogun Hideyoshi to Jokei, apprentice and adoptive son of Chojiro. Raku ware were the fist Japanese ceramics to carry a seal.

Raku starts with the clay that is used, and is defined also by the technique used, the glaze, and the firing process. The simplicity and intimacy of hand forming the tea bowls without the use of a potter's wheel brings the drinker closer to the spirit of the potter. The glaze is lead based and the bowls are fired at a low heat. When the bowls are done firing, they are taken from the kiln and either shocked in water or air dried while red hot. This is a technique that is used in tile making, it renders a porous looking end product. Since this low firing and shocking leaves the clay not fully hardened at the end of the process, it is a better insulator for the tea.

The Japanese would not just drink from the tea bowl, they would hold the bowl and appreciate the potter, the fire, the water and the air that worked together for the tea in the bowl. The Raku tea bowl tradition is steeped in the Japanese Zen Buddhist tradition, and the design is pure and simple.

The Raku style tea bowl is aesthetically simple and intimate. When you study a piece of Raku ware you immediately notice the inconsistency of the surface, it is not an even or refined looking piece, the glaze is simple and it has no decoration or pattern, and the firing process itself leaves the surface of the bowl porous in some areas, but not so in others. The appearance is not unappealing, it is just simple. The technique is laborious, and one would not think that someone would invest so much in such an unrefined looking piece, but that simple appearance is part of the overall appeal for both myself and the drinkers.

The majority of the audience for the tea ceremony were Zen Buddhists, and the way of nature and the simplicity and balance of nature are very important in that belief structure, ultimately leading to inward and outward harmony. These pieces are very important to the Japanese culture, and there were six pieces that were so appreciated that they had their own names. Most had one simple shape to them, known as Soeki nari (Soeki shape). This was the shape that was preferred by Sen no Riyku. It was a top heavy design. The bottom was a generous basin, then it squeezed slightly inward and the top rolled back out slightly to where it rolled in at the lip slightly.

Though it is not mentioned to be so anywhere that I read, I would think that since the powdered tea that they used would leave a residual pool of material that it would be not just an attractive shape that was natural to the hands of those using it, but that the rolled lip would probably help the drinker to keep from drinking tea solids.