Important Cultural Property
Height 10.1cm, Bore 11.6-12.6cm, Base 5.9cm in diameter
Manno Museum of Art
On the back of the lid of the inner box, the 7th Shukuso of Kyoan wrote “Red tea bowl, Kaga Koetsu, in the possession of Soso Senzoso of Kashu, from Souken (haseki) Senzasai,” and on the outer box, Matsudaira Fumai, a later owner of this elegant box wrote “by Koetsu, a tea master”. As shown on the inner box, it was commonly called “Kaga Koetsu” because Soso owned it in Kaga, and it was not specifically named after Koetsu. Sentan’s son Saso, who was a close friend of Koetsu, became the tea master of the Maeda family and died in Kaga, so it may have been a gift from Koetsu to Sentan. When Kuranosuke became a clerical officer in Shoutoku 4, many of his tools were transferred to the Fuyuki family, or Kiheiji Ueda, a wealthy merchant in Edo (present-day Tokyo), and this tea bowl was one of them. Furthermore, it was transferred from the Fuyuki family around the time of Kansei Era, and became the collection of Matsudaira Fumai.
It is a unique example of Koetsu’s red tea bowl. While most of the other red tea bowls are made of red clay, this one is made of white clay, and while many red tea bowls have a strong rounded appearance, this one is made in an emphatic cut shape. The ridge on the waist and the body are clearly defined, the body has a bulge as if it were a drum body, the flattened mouth rim on two sides has a change in height, and the vertical spatula on the inside and outside with an appropriate interval from the bottom to the body is also a unique workmanship, one of Koetsu’s most artful teacups. However, the circular base is surprisingly straightforward, the tatami mats are broad and flat, and the inside of the base has also been easily chipped away. As usual, there is no tea stain, and the surface is flat and gently rounded.
The reddish coloring differs from that of “Otogozen” and “Bishamondo” because of the transparent glaze applied by brushing yellowish clay over white clay. One of the highlights of this bowl is the white landscape showing the trace of brush on a part of the mouth edge and the hem of the body, and also dark green fire discoloration has occurred in the high base.
