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Master Potters in Raku Generation

Tuesday, 08 August 2006 08:38 Pottery Centre Articles

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.

Chojiro, The founder [? - 1589]
Jokei [? - 1635]
Donyu [1599 - 1656]
Ichinyu [1640 - 1696]
Sonyu [1664 - 1716]
Sanyu [1685 - 1739]
Chonyu [1714 - 1770]
Tokunyu [1745 - 1774]
Ryonyu [1756 - 1834]
Tannyu [1795 - 1854]
Keinyu [1817 - 1902]
Konyu [1857 - 1932]
Seinyu [1887 - 1944]
Kakunyu [1918 - 1980]
Kichizaemon [1949 - ]

1. Chojiro, The founder [? - 1589]

Chojiro is thought to have been a son of Ameya of Chinese origin. He founded Raku ware under the guidance of Sen no Rikyu who established chanoyu, the tea ceremony, exclusively making red and black tea bowls for the tea ceremony. The form achieved in his tea bowls is a manifestation of spirituality, reflecting most directly the ideals of wabi advocated by Sen no Rikyu as much as the philosophy of Zen, Buddhism and Taoism. Chojiro, through his negation of movement, decoration and variation of form, went beyond the boundaries of individualistic expression and elevated the tea bowl into a spiritual abstraction and an intensified presence.

Tanaka Sokei [?, age 60 in 1594]

He directed the Raku workshop together with Chojiro and the grandfather of Chojiro's wife. Especially after the death of Chojiro, he came to be known as the master potter. The examples of his work that have survived include a three-coloured glazed incense burner, a black Raku tea bowl, etc., all bearing a Raku family seal, by which his works are distinguishable from those by Chojiro.

2. Jokei [? - 1635]

Born as a son of Sokei. After the death of Chojiro, he directed the Raku workshop, founding the base for the Raku tradition continuing till today. Since Jokei, each generation has succeeded the name, Kichizaemon. His work has more movement and variation of form, being occasionally deformed, which was never found in the work of Chojiro. He also invented the white glaze in addition to the red and black Raku glazes.

3. Donyu [1599 - 1656]

Born as the eldest son of Jokei. He is also known as Nonko, later considered the most skillful Raku potter. He introduced the decorativeness into the Chojiro's stylistic tradition of monochrome black that eliminated decoration. In contrast to the massive presence of Chojiro's tea bowls, the individualistic expression has been reduced to a minimum.

4. Ichinyu [1640 - 1696]

Born as the eldest son of Donyu. He was only 17 when his father died. The influence of his father is, thus, hardly visible in his work. His style is closer to that of Chojiro than to a more innovative style of Donyu. In particular, his invention of a new type of glaze, shuyaku glaze, the black glaze mottled with the red, made a significant influence on the work of successive generations.

5. Sonyu [1664 - 1716]

Born as a son of Kariganeya Sanuemon and later adopted by Ichinyu. He succeeded as the 5th generation in 1691. In 1708 he took the tonsure, assuming the retiring name of Sonyu. His real father, Kariganeya Sanuemon was the youngest brother of Ogata Soken, whose sons, Ogata Korin and Kenzan, were his cousins. Korin and Kenzan formed a unique, highly decorative style of paintings and ceramics called the "Rinpa" school during the Genroku period, being one of the most distinguished styles in the history of Japanese art. Nonetheless, Sonyu pursued his creative inspiration more in non - decorative tea bowls of Chojiro in his effort of establishing his own style. His dry, matte black glaze, commonly known as kase glaze, is a proof of Sonyu's inclination for the style of Chojiro. The heavy, massive presence, as if it were a rusted iron mass, speaks clearly of the Sonyu's aesthetic approach.

6. Sanyu [1685 - 1739]

Born as a son of Yamatoya Kahei and later taken into the Raku family as Sonyu's son-in-law. In 1708 he succeeded as the 6th generation. In 1728 he went into retirement, assuming the name of Sanyu. He made numerous copies of other ceramics including tea bowls of Koetsu. The characteristic styles of others are successfully merged into Sonyu's work to his stylistic merit. The rational awareness in the making of tea bowls, which was not shared by the past generations, is evidently growing in his creative approach.

7. Chonyu [1714 - 1770]

Born as the eldest son of Sanyu, he succeeded as the 7th generation in 1728 and assumed the name of Chonyu at his retirement in 1762. His stylistic characteristics are less distinct, compared with those of the other Raku generations. In contrast to Sonyu's unique reinterpretation of the Chojiro's style or Sanyu's original variation of form, Chonyu's work is rather reserved. His tea bowls are uniformly large and have a modest appearance.

8. Tokunyu [1745 - 1774]

Born as the eldest son of Chonyu, he succeeded as the 8th generation in 1762 and went into retirement in 1770, calling himself Sahei. The name, Tokunyu, was given at the 25th anniversary of his death. Only a few examples of his work remain, which all were made in his youth before the age of 25. He never managed to establish his own style and the influence of his father, Chonyu, is prevalent in his work. Some of his tea bowls, however, are endowed with freshness and innocent charm.

9. Ryonyu [1756 - 1834]

Born as the second son of Chonyu. As his brother, Tokunyu retired in 1770 at the age of 25, he succeeded as the 9th generation when he was only 14. He assumed the name, Ryonyu, at his retirement in 1825. Ryonyu's 65 years of prolific production of ceramics were dedicated to various stylistic developments according to his age and the particular importance of his achievements lies in the use of trimming to the advantage of modelling made by the hand-forming method. The potter emphasizes the effect of trimming, boldly applied vertically, horizontally and obliquely, added dynamism as well as decorativeness to the form and at the same time was a manifestation of his mentality, a creative stance which transcended his lifetime. It was an innovation newly added to the Raku tradition.

10. Tannyu [1795 - 1854]

Born as the second son of Ryonyu, he succeeded as the 10th generation in 1811. He took the name of Tannyu at this retirement in 1845. The stylistic influence of his father, Ryonyu, is clearly visible in his work. The trimming effect is technically more elaborated and varied, setting off the details of the tea bowl.

11. Keinyu [1817 - 1902]

Born as a son of Ogawa Naohachi, a sake brewer from Tanba, the present Kameoka City in Kyoto, he was taken into the Raku family as Tannyu's son-in-law. He succeeded as the 11th generation in 1845. He retired in 1871, assuming the name of Keinyu. The period he lived through was an age of transformation from the feudalism of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the modernization of Meiji government introducing the modern cultural prospects from the West. At the same time he saw the collapse of traditional culture including the tea culture. Over a 60 year long production of ceramics under such unfavourable circumstances. Keinyu, however, vigorously made a variety of ceramics, not only tea bowls but other tea utensils as well as decorative objects.

12. Konyu [1857 - 1932]

Born as the eldest son of Keinyu, he succeeded as the 12th generation in 1871 at the age of 15. He took the name on Konyu at his retirement in 1919. He was confronted with difficulties together with his father when he succeeded to the house, since the tea cult was still in decline at the dawn of the modernization of the Meiji period. The use of trimming to render variations of form, which has been a common practice since Ryonyu, is equally characteristic of Konyu's work.

The decorative effect is even more radically pursued, wherein several Raku seals are impressed in a pattern. Particularly his red Raku glaze, varied intone and shade, is characteristic of Konyu.

13. Seinyu [1887 - 1944]

Born as the eldest son of Konyu, he succeeded as the 13th generation in 1919. Seinyu's 57 yeas lifetime was certainly not the happiest, with the outbreak of two successive World Wars. He principally followed the traditional style of Raku tea bowls, reflecting his serious personality. He was an enthusiastic researcher on glazes, applying various minerals from different sources in Japan for the experimentation of glazes.

14. Kakunyu [1918 - 1980]

Born as the eldest son of Seinyu, he graduated from the Sculptural Department at Tokyo School of Art (present Tokyo University of Fine Arts). He succeeded as the 14th generation in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. The basic knowledge of modern art that he gained at Tokyo School of Art helped him to establish a unique style of his own, clearly distinguished from those of the past generation. . His trimming is more precisely applied for the purpose of giving structural power to the composition of tea bowls.

15. Kichizaemon [1949 - ]

Born as the eldest son of Kakunyu. After graduated from the Sculptural Department of the Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1973, he went to Italy for further studies. He succeeded as the 15th generation Kichizaemon in 1981.