Height 7.8cm, Bore 12.8-14.0cm, Base 5.4cm in diameter
Fujita Museum of Art
This is a tea bowl in the shape of a shoe with a strongly stepped waist. It is similar to the black Oribe shoe-shaped tea bowls that became popular in Mino from the first half of the Keicho era (1596-1598). The entire construction is thick, and the mouth is rounded. The base is carved out in a round shape, and a mark of Raku character is stamped in the center of the base, and the entire surface is thickly glazed, leaving a triangular clay pattern centering on the base. The seal stamped in the center of the bowl is called “Jokei mark”, which is different from the marks on the previous bowls. Or, this seal may be the seal that Jokei received from Hidetada. On the back of the box lid, Jyoshinsai wrote “Nidaime Kurocha Bowl, Hototogisu (flower seal)”.
