Chadamari is a faintly Tomoe-shaped depression on the front surface of a matcha bowl and is considered one of the highlights of the bowl. Raku tea bowls generally have a chamadori. There are some devices such as making it in the shape of Tomoe or making it deep at one end and shallow and gentle at the other end. Chamadori was probably a natural feature of Korean tea bowls at first, but later it became a common practice among tea masters to make it on all Wabi-style tea bowls. This was first seen in Setoguro, a Seto-style tea bowl.
Like the “Kagami Kagami” seen in China, Korea, and other countries, it appears to be a mark made by pressing down hard on the inside of the prospective surface to prevent the bottom from cracking when forming the bowl.
The lower the kaolin content of the clay, the harder it must be tightened to prevent the base from breaking. In order to prevent this, the clay was tightened with a spatula or other tool. The remnants of this process may have been called “chadamari” by later people.
