The Origin of Raku Ware

The tea bowls made by Chôjirô were initially called ima-yaki, literally "now wares", that is to say, wares produced at the present time. They were subsequently renamed juraku-yaki, "juraku wares", due to the fact that Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), the leading warrior statesman of the time, presented Chôjirô with a seal bearing the Chinese character for Raku. The term Raku derived from Jurakudai, the name of a palace built by Hideyoshi, one of the great symbols of his age. Raku then became the name of the family that produced the wares. This is the only example in the history of a family name becoming synonymous with the ceramics they produced. Furthermore, few potter families have continued in an unbroken line in the way the Raku family has done.

The term "Raku-yaki”, Raku ware, derived from "Jurakudai", the name of an architecture representing the Momoyama period at its peak towards late16th Century, which also became the family name of a ceramic dynasty founded by Chôjirô. It came into being when Chôjirô made a tea bowl to meet the tea aesthetics of wabicha advocated by Sen Rikyû, the leading tea master of his time.

Today, Raku ware is known worldwide as a form of ceramic technique. However, it was initially referred only to the wares made by the Raku family. The current headship Raku Kichizaemon is the fifteenth generation of the family. The house and the workshop are located on the west side of the former Imperial Palace in Kyoto, still maintaining a traditional Kyoto style architecture designed with "Inuyarai" and "Degoshi".

Through the lattice of "Degoshi", one could see the stone pavement of the entrance hall and a "Noren", curtain, hung overhead with the calligraphy reading "Rakuyaki Ochawanya”, literally Raku ware tea bowl workshop, which was presumably done by Hon’ami Kôetsu. At each succession of a new Raku headship, noren is renewed with the lettering based on the prototype left by Kôetsu that has been handed down in the family. The house was burnt by fire that broke out from the Imperial Palace in 1854, and the present structure was rebuilt afterwards. The premises are supposed to have been established during the period of Chôjirô, but the document only confirms the existence in reference to Dônyû, the third generation (1599 - 1656). The workshop and the kiln are located at the back of the main house, where the unchanged tradition kept over 400 years since the time of Chôjirô continued to flourish.

Making of Raku ware was initiated by Chôjirô, the first generation of the Raku family, during the Momoyama period (1573-1615). At that time three-coloured glazed pottery, san cai ware, based on technology from the Fujian region of China was produced in and around Kyoto. Chôjirô was presumably familiar with such techniques. A written record confirms that Ameya, Chôjirô's father, originally from China, is thought to have been the one who introduced the techniques of three-coloured glazed pottery from China, although none of his works has survived to prove this. These Japanese san cai wares, however, were not called Raku wares. It was only after Chôjirô had become acquainted with the tea master Sen Rikyû (1522-1591) who asked Chôjirô to make tea bowls for the tea ceremony under his guidance that the Raku ware came into being. It could be said that the origin of Raku ware lay in the making of a single tea bowl for the tea ceremony.

The characteristics of Raku tea bowls as pioneered by Chôjirô are their exclusive use of monochrome black or red glazes - in marked contrast to the brightness of the san cai wares from which they evolved - and an unique aesthetic which aims at the elimination of movement, decoration and variation of form. In this Raku wares reflect more directly than any other kind of ceramic the ideals of wabicha, the form of tea ceremony based on the aesthetics of wabi advocated by Sen Rikyu. Central to the philosophy of wabicha were notions of "nothingness" deriving from Zen Buddhism and the "isness" of Taoism.

 

Raku wares are hand-formed rather than thrown on the wheel, which makes them very different from other kinds of Japanese ceramics. Hand-forming increase the potential for modelling and allows the spirit of the artist to speak through the finished work with particular directness and intimacy. Chôjirô, however, through his negation of movement, decoration and variation of form, went beyond the boundaries of individualistic expression and elevated the tea bowl into a manifestation of abstract spirituality.

 

Chôjirô's elimination of movement, decoration and variation of form and his delving beyond the boundaries of individualistic expression manifested themselves in works of monochromatic silence. To deliberately negate attempt at any formative expression is, as if creativity tries to go beyond the act of creation itself, a paradoxical and extraordinary spiritual endeavour. What was Chôjirô trying to achieve? What are we to understand from his attainments? 400 years later, the issues of spirituality and artistic consciousness addressed by Chôjirô are as valid and relevant as ever.

 

Raku Museum, EXPLORING THE CORE

The Raku Museum is situated immediately next door to the Raku family home and workshop in central Kyoto. It was established in 1978 by the 14th generation Kakunyû (1918-1980) and has a collection of about 1000 works. These consist primarily of ceramics made by successive heads of the Raku family, related documents, and tea utensils passed down over the generations. The way in which the collection has been formed as a resource from which future generations can learn about the techniques and artistry of their forbears makes it very different from collections formed by art museums and private collectors. It is, in effect, an encapsulation of the essence of the Raku tradition.

Raku Generation

Traditions are not only to be maintained. What to see within the traditions, and from that point-of-view arises a brand new piece with a traditional root.
That view is the present, and simultaneously is our evidence of existence.

1. Chojiro,  The founder [? - 1589]
2. Jokei (? - 1635)
3. Donyu (1599 - 1656)
4. Ichinyu ([1640 - 1696)
5. Sonyu (1664 - 1716)
6. Sanyu (1685 - 1739)
7. Chonyu (1714 - 1770)
   
8. Tokunyu (1745 - 1774)
   
9. Ryonyu (1756 - 1834)
   
10. Tannyu (1795 - 1854)
    
11. Keinyu (1817 - 1902)
    
12. Konyu (1857 - 1932)
    
13. Seinyu (1887 - 1944)
    
14. Kakunyu (1918 - 1980)
    
15. Kichizaemon (1949 - )

Source: Raku Ware Web Site