Height: 8.3 cm, Mouth Diameter: 11.0 cm, Foot Diameter: 5.3 cm
Raku Museum
On the underside of the inner box lid, Ryōnyū—Tokunyū’s younger brother who succeeded the family in the seventh year of the Meiwa era—has inscribed: “Made by Tokunyū; Red Tea Bowl; Seal of the Ninth-Generation Ryōnyū.” The title “Tokunyū” was bestowed upon him on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death in the tenth year of the Kansei era, and it goes without saying that Ryōnyū’s inscription was written after the eighth year of the Bunka era, when he was fifty-six years old and had taken the tonsure to adopt the name Ryōnyū.
This is an outstanding piece among Tokunari’s red tea bowls, featuring a glaze reminiscent of Chōnyū’s style. The rim’s gentle undulations are shaped like the Five Peaks, the body is decorated with two bands of horizontal lines, and the footring and its surrounding area are adorned with a band of incised patterns. The foot is low, with a deep groove carved along its edge; the base is flat, and the character “Raku” is stamped inside the foot. The glaze is vivid, with some areas showing fire-induced color changes; the red hues vary from deep to light, creating a rich and varied effect. Three marks remain on the base.
