National Treasure
Height: 8.5 cm
Mouth diameter: 11.6cm
Outer diameter of base: 5.4cm
Height: 0.5cm
Fujisan is an excellent tea bowl of high dignity, and was selected as one of Koetsu’s five types, seven types, and ten works. It is also called Furisode Tea Bowl, and is the most famous tea bowl among Koetsu’s works. There is a legend that when Koetsu’s daughter married a wealthy man in Osaka, she wrapped this tea bowl in a furisode kimono and brought it with her, according to her husband’s wish, and thus it is called furisode tea bowl. This is the only white Koetsu tea bowl, and the only other Koetsu tea bowl with a box inscription in Koetsu’s own handwriting, besides Fujisan, which is also considered rare.
The base is rough white clay with a thick transparent Raku white glaze, and there are rough penetrations on the entire surface. The lower half of the body and the lower half of the inner surface are carbonized to a grayish-black color, creating an interesting contrast between black and white, making this a unique tea bowl. It is said that the name “Fujisan” was given to this bowl by comparing this scenery to the white snow-covered Fuji, and it is also said that the name “Fujisan” was given to this bowl in the sense that it is the best in the world because of its incomparable quality.
The shape of the bowl is thick and rounded with slightly soft undulations at the rim, the body is close to being cut, the waist is sharp and angular, and it has a flat, thick base. The body, bottom, and base are formed by hand by scraping with a spatula. This is an excellent tea bowl with a bold, yet detailed, and rich feeling.
In the tea bowl of Koetsu, there are three types of tea bowls, one is a rounded tea bowl like Bishamondo, Seppo, and Otogozen, the other is a tea bowl with a shape close to the cut-off like Fujiyama, Kaga, and Tekkabe, and the other is a tea bowl with the shape like Amegumo, Shigure, and Shoji which is a mixture of both of these. Both of these are original shapes created by Koetsu, and are considered to be the masterpieces of Raku tea bowls.
The accessories are as follows,
Pouch, bag, paulownia wood
Inner box, paulownia wood, inscription on the front of the lid: Koetsu, “Fujisan Daihyoumami
Outer box, cedar, white wood, inscription on the back of the lid “Hikita Gonpei
One Furisode (long-sleeved kimono) of Koetsu’s daughter, embroidered with pine, bamboo, and waterfall elders in gold thread on purple ground
This tea bowl was originally owned by Hikita Gonpei around the time of the Tempo Era, but in November of the 9th year of Tempo Era, Sakai Garakuto Chugaku took it over, and it has been in the Sakai family in Himeji ever since.
（Since then, it has been in the Sakai family in Himeji.)
