Height 8.2cm, mouth diameter 9.9cm, base diameter 6.0cm
On the back of the lid of the inner box, Sotan Sen wrote “Sei (flower seal)” and on the left side of it, Somuro Soso wrote “Aka Chawan Chojiro ware Sotan shouzoku Soshitsu (flower seal)” (red tea bowl with Sotan’s calligraphy), which is certified by Somuro Soso, and on the back of the outer box, there is “Sei Chawan Sotan shouzoku Soeko Soshitsu Left (flower seal)” which is certified by Kakuzai Haraso, and a letter by Chotukusai. The vermilion lacquer calligraphy of “Sei” written on the side of the bowl is also believed to be by Sotan. This is the first time that Sotan’s tea bowl has been introduced in an illustrated edition.
Although we did not have time this time to investigate its transmission since Muneyoshi, it seems to have been in the collection of the Hasegawa family, a wealthy merchant in Ise-Matsuzaka, during the Kansei era.
As a red tea bowl of Chojiro ware, it is almost unexceptional, but there are common things in black tea bowls such as “Kinewole” and “Nunji”. However, because it is red, the appearance is somewhat different. It has a taut waist, an undulating mouth rim, and a holding mouth, and the body is held down in a body-shime style. The base is rather large and the tatami mats are wide, with a spatula turned around the base, and a deep, large tea bowl has been carved into the front. The body is covered with a thick, translucent white glaze with many bubbles scattered throughout, and one side of the body has a large damaged area from the hem to the mouth, which has been repaired with lacquer.
