Height: 8.3 cm, Mouth Diameter: 10.2 cm, Foot Diameter: 5.1 cm
Raku Museum
In 1890 (Meiji 23), at the age of 34, Kōnyū held a memorial tea ceremony together with his father, Keinyū, to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of the first Chōjirō. To commemorate the occasion, he created 300 red tea bowls to distribute as gifts; this bowl is one of them. The lid of the accompanying box bears the inscription “Red Tea Bowl (Raku seal) (12th-generation Kichō seal),” while the underside of the lid reads: “Made for the 300th anniversary of Chōjirō’s death in the autumn of the Year of the Tiger (Geng-Tora). 12th-generation Kichizaemon. Seal: Kichō.” Although it is one of the commemorative bowls made for the anniversary, it is a typical work from Kōnyū’s youth, and the craftsmanship of the bowl is quite excellent.
While the form is in the style of Chōjirō, the glaze is entirely different, and variations are created by leaving visible pores and fingerprints. On the body, fire-change patterns appear vividly both inside and out, and the white glaze drifts like white clouds, creating a beautiful scene. Although a portion of the footring is covered in glaze, most of it is left unglazed to reveal the clay. In the center of the footring’s interior, a cursive “Raku” seal—written by Rokuroku Sai specifically for this memorial piece—is stamped, with “Made by the 12th Generation” carved to the right and a signature carved to the left. On the interior rim, the standard “Raku” seal and the “12th Generation Kichō” seal are stamped.
