RAKU WARE

The tradition of Raku tea bowls has been transmitted within the Raku family for over 450 years through the principle of isshi sōden, whereby artistic secrets and technical knowledge are inherited by a single successor. The origins of the Raku lineage date to the Azuchi–Momoyama period (late sixteenth century), a formative era marked by significant political and social transformation under figures such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

In this age of military conflict and cultural realignment, the tea master Sen Rikyū exerted profound influence on the ruling elite through the practice of tea. The origins of Raku ware are closely associated with his collaboration with the Raku family. At Rikyū’s request, the first-generation Raku Chōjirō was commissioned to produce a new type of tea bowl that would embody the ideals of Rikyū’s wabi-cha, characterised by simplicity, austerity and spiritual depth. This encounter marks the beginning of the Raku tradition.

Despite major historical disruptions – including Rikyū’s enforced suicide, the transition from the Toyotomi regime to the Tokugawa Shogunate, and later through the Meiji Restoration and the upheavals of the two World Wars – the Raku lineage has been maintained without interruption, with its techniques and aesthetic principles transmitted across generations to the present day.

This exhibition presents a selection of significant works by successive heads of the Raku family, preserved and handed down over time. Highlights include Mozuyaguro, a black Raku tea bowl by Chōjirō, traditionally believed to have been bestowed by Sen Rikyū upon his son-in-law.

In addition, the exhibition features examples of tezukuri chawan—tea bowls made by tea masters or tea practitioners themselves, reflecting their personal aesthetic preferences—by Kakukakusai, the sixth head of the Omotesenke school, as well as contemporary interpretations by Kabuki actor Bandō Tamasaburō and fashion designer NIGO^®.