Height: 8.1 cm, Mouth diameter: 10.8 cm, Foot diameter: 5.1 cm
Raku Museum
This is a powerful, semi-cylindrical tea bowl with a varied rim and a strongly flared body, likely modeled after the style of Chōjirō. The foot is low, with a flat base and a well-proportioned construction; the interior of the foot is deeply carved. A thick layer of black glaze has been applied, leaving the foot and its surroundings exposed, and it has melted well. Two marks are scattered on the interior surface and five on the exterior, all of which are white, resembling so-called “yellow bald spots.” The words “Made by the 82-Year-Old Elder” are carved on the side of the foot. On the underside of the inner box lid, Seisai has written, “Several Marks: Black Tea Bowl by Kei-nyu, Inscription: ‘Great Sky,’ Left (Seal),” and on the front of the outer box lid, “Kei-nyu-saku, In-zumi black tea bowl, 12th-generation Kichizaemon, certified,” and on the underside of the lid, “Sōraku seal, for Kishū Onite-yaki, Untei seal, Hongan-ji domain seal, Tenka-ichi seal for Taruzan-yaki, seal for Jōkei’s memorial service”—all of which are authenticated by Kōnyu.
