Matcha bowl / Kuroraku "Keinyu Oozora" Shôraku

Black Raku-yaki matcha bowl marked with buckets made by Shôraku Sasaki III (1944-) from the Shôraku kiln in Kyoto.

This tea bowl is a reproduction of "Oozora", a representative example of the tea bowl of Keinyu, Kichizaemon XI (1817-1902) of the Raku family. Raku ceramics originated in the Tensho period (late 16th century) , when Chojiro I of the Raku family produced tea bowls based on the Wabi philosophy of Sen no Rikyu, the great master of the tea ceremony. Raku ceramics are characterized by the production techniques of “tezukune” molding (kneaded by hand) and firing at low temperature (750°C – 1200°C) in a small kiln. Tezukune molding is a method of making pottery consisting of kneading clay by hand without using a potter's wheel, then shape it by scraping it with a spatula.