Important cultural property. A masterpiece. Raku ware tea bowl, black, by Koetsu. It is probably called “Amagumo” (rain cloud) because of the complex mixture of glaze and black glaze. It is thinly made and in the shape of a rice bowl. One side of the mouth rim is high and warped, while the other side is low and slightly slanted. The black glaze is beautifully glossy, and the bowl has a go-zukuri bottom with no base, and a concave center in the shape of a five-ringed plum blossom. It was handed down in the Mitsui Hachiroemon family in Kyoto. (Taisho Meikikan)
