Ikkü (Tamamizu II, ?-1720):
Height: 7.4 cm, Mouth Diameter: 9.6 cm, Foot Diameter: 4.6 cm
Raku Museum
At first glance, the style of this piece is so similar to Ichinyu’s red-glazed black tea bowls that it could easily be mistaken for one. However, compared to Ichinyu’s work, there is a certain stiffness to it. In particular, the rim reveals a different artistic touch than Ichinyu’s. Overall, the bowl is slightly thick-walled, with the rim drawn inward, the body slightly tapered, and the waist rounded and high. The foot is small with a rounded base, and a tomoe-patterned hood is formed inside the foot. Furthermore, a tea pool is clearly visible on the interior surface. The piece is covered in black glaze, with vivid vermilion glaze appearing in places; in particular, the vermilion glaze appears in a band-like pattern where the glaze breaks at the rim. Compared to Ichinyu’s work, the color of the vermilion glaze here seems to have a slightly stronger red hue. Three marks remain on the foot rim. On the front of the inner box lid, Nintosai, the third-generation master of Tamamizu-yaki, has inscribed “Black Tea Bowl, made by Aniki Yabee”; on the back, he has written “Black Tea Bowl, made by Aniki Yabee, Nintosai (seal).” Therefore, although the artist is referred to as Ichigen, he is not Ichigen himself, but is presumed to be Nintosai’s older brother, Ikū Yabee. Ikku Yabee was Ichigen’s eldest son; although he died at the age of twenty-two, he is believed to have been a highly skilled artist. It appears that many red-glazed Tamamizu-yaki tea bowls of this type, attributed to artists such as Ichigen and Ikku, have been passed down as the work of Ichinyu.
