Year: 2023
Medium: earthenware with black Raku glaze (Raku ware)
Dimensions: Φ12.7 x 10.2 cm (Φ5 x 4 in.)
Acquired from Isetan Art Gallery, 2024
This black Raku tea bowl was fired with a black glaze. Black stones from the Kamo River in Kyoto are mixed into the glaze, and the piece is fired at a relatively low temperature of around 1,000 degrees Celsius, then rapidly cooled to achieve its deep black finish. With the subtle reds that emerge through the thick black, this work evokes a scene of clouds drifting in dim twilight. The glazing technique is known as “shugusuri,” unique to Raku ware and said to have been established by the fourth-generation master Ichinyu following the third-generation master Donyu. It is said that the copper in the glaze produces a red color when fired in a low-oxygen environment, a process known as reduction firing.
