Raku ware – is a traditional Japanese pottery for tea ceremonies

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Japan is rich in unique techniques of ceramics. One of them is Raku ceramics.

Raku pottery is a special handmade vessel made especially for the tea ceremony. And although now this name has become common, traditionally the ceramics of Raku is called only the works of the dynasty of the same name.

And it started in the second half of the XVI century, when Japan was going through a difficult period of becoming a centralized state, and thus a single Japanese identity. It was then that the tea ceremony, which for a long period of time was identical to the Chinese, finally took shape in a unique Japanese version. The great master of the Japanese tea ceremony, Sen-no Rikyu, was guided by the philosophy of Zen Buddhism and Wabi-Sabi, which value the modest simplicity of dim things, fleeting moods, all that you do not see with your eyes as much as you feel with your heart. Sen-no Rikyu needed utensils for the tea ceremony, which would embody these views. At the palace of military and political figure Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he met Tojiro – a master who made tiles. The bowls made by Tojiro at the request of Sen-no Rikyu became an indispensable attribute of the tea ceremonies of Hideyoshi Palace. In 1584, the master received the creative name Raku, which means «joy». It became the hereditary name of a dynasty of unique potters. Today the patriarch is a representative of the 15th generation of Raku. Interestingly, each patriarch of the family finds and stores clay for the next three generations. The longer the clay is stored, the easier it is to sculpt from it.

Raku ware

What is the uniqueness of Raku ceramics? 

Tojiro refused to use the potter’s wheel. All bowls are still created by hand, and in the process of sculpting involved not just the fingers, but the whole palm. That is why cylindrical bowls with slightly concave inward edges fit perfectly in the hands. The first bowls were mostly red and black, then other natural colors were added: brown and yellow. At first glance, they may seem imperfect or rude, but such uniqueness is a special charm and embodiment of the Japanese worldview. In addition, even the oldest bowls look completely modern, they seem to exist out of time. Another feature of Raku ceramics is that the bowl of boiling water does not burn the hands, but only gives them a pleasant warmth and a special feeling of comfort and softness. And this heat is stored for a long time.

Each Raku master follows the traditions of the dynasty and at the same time has his own unique «handwriting». The story of making glaze for Raku ceramics is amazing. Her «recipe» is not passed down from generation to generation: each master «invents» his own formula, which he does not share with anyone. Even the father does not know what impurities his son adds to his own glaze. The bowls of Raku are burned in exactly the same furnace that Tojiro used in the 16th century. After all, traditions for Japan, especially family ones, are above all.

And in the tradition of the art studio «Lihtaryk» – to hold interesting and cozy pottery workshops. We invite everyone to join the oldest craft, relax and discover their creative abilities.

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