RAKU WARE

Japan has many famous pottery regions, each with a long history and unique charm that continues to be passed down to this day.
Among them, Raku-yaki, Raku ware, is particularly distinctive.
It has been cherished in the world of the tea ceremony, as referred to in the saying which goes: ’First Raku, Second Hagi, Third Karatsu’.

Unlike most pottery, which has developed through the collective efforts of artisans in specific regions, Raku ware has been uniquely sustained at its core by a continuous series of individual works made by successive heads of the Raku family, continuing unbroken for hundreds of years and it has now reached its sixteenth generation.

Tea bowls from every generation since the first, Chōjirō, are still preserved to this day. Rather than merely imitating the works of the first generation, each successor has developed his own originality and distinctive characteristics, embedding the artist’s perspective and philosophy deeply into his works. This makes Raku ware a truly rare and unique form of ceramic tradition in Japan.

The origins of Raku ware trace back to when the tea master Sen Rikyū, who perfected the wabi-cha style of tea, commissioned the potter Chōjirō to create tea bowls native of Japan that embodied his ideals of tea.
Naturally, Rikyū and Chōjirō lived over 400 years ago. Simply receiving and consuming their great legacy would cause tradition to stagnate. Throughout history, successive generations of the Raku family have each interpreted wabi-cha in their own way, leaving their unique marks on history through their tea bowls. As the saying goes, ‘a tea bowl carries the spirit of its maker’. Each bowl holds the traces of past generations who lived earnestly through different eras.

We hope this exhibition will provide you with insights to discover and experience the various thoughts, aesthetics, and profound allure of tea.