Height: 7.9 to 8.3 cm
Diameter: 14.6 to 15.2 cm
Outer diameter of foot: 5.7 to 6.0 cm
Height: 0.5 cm
This tea bowl is commonly referred to as Kuroda Haku-an, as it was passed down in the Kuroda family. It is a famous bowl that fulfills all the requirements of a Haku-an tea bowl, and is a work of particularly high quality.
The foot ring is shaped like a bamboo joint, and the helmet-shaped lid is gently and modestly carved. As usual, the foot ring is covered in a glaze that runs from the center to the outside.
The body of the bowl, which opens out gently, has a quiet, circular pattern that gives the overall shape a gentle appearance. The rim is slightly turned up at the mouth, and there is a tea-colored spot in the center of the body, where a single crack can be seen.
The single character “namako” (sea cucumber) design on the body is slightly dark in color, but not too thick, and is also gentle in comparison to other designs. There is also a thin layer of namako glaze on the right side of the rim.
With the exception of the foot ring and the foot ring rim, the glaze of the overall body is well-dissolved, and the fine craquelure appears as promised. The glaze near the foot is slightly thicker, and therefore the craquelure is rougher, and it is interesting that there are several places where the glaze has run out at the border with the clay body, and one place where it is dripping down. From the foot to the rim, it maintains a good balance, and its dignified form is probably one of the most elegant of all the Hakuans.
The calligraphy on the lid of the inner box, “Seto teacup”, is by Kobori Enshu, and the calligraphy on the outer box, “Seto teacup Hakuan”, is by an unknown artist, but the style of the calligraphy suggests that it is probably by Katagiri Sekishu.
The process by which this tea bowl came to be in the possession of the Kuroda family, the feudal lords of Chikuzen, is detailed in the family’s “Catalogue of Valuable Historical Relics”, which states that
Seto Haku-an
Lord Tadayuki presented a wooden bowl to Lord Mitsuyuki, who was serving tea for Lord Sanukimori Sakai. The wooden bowl was a tea bowl that was suitable for the tea ceremony, and it was presented to Lord Enshu . It was then sent to Fushimi, but Enshu knew that it was in the possession of Ono Hanosuke, the Otsu magistrate, and so he asked for it. The price was seven pieces of silver.
It is said that, at the request of the fourth lord of the domain, Mitsunori, Enshu purchased this tea bowl from Otsu’s magistrate, Ono Hanosuke, and presented it to the Kuroda family.
Perhaps because it was kept as a treasured item in the Kuroda family for a long time, it is not mentioned in the “Kokin Meibutsu Ruiju” or “Chaki Meibutsu Zushi”, and it was also passed down without being included in the “Taisho Meiki Kan”.
