Aka-raku chawan oxidation glaze hand-formed signed Ōno Kyūkō warm red clay body, late Shōwa period Japan, displayed next to chasen whisk on tatami mat with ukiyoe print in background

Aka-raku chawan with oxidation glaze, signed Ōno Kyūkō, late Shōwa period

Name: Japanese aka-raku chawan Ono Kyuko oxidation Showa hand formed | KAIKO&CO
Brand: KAIKO&CO
Price: 135.0 EUR
Availability: InStock

€135.00

This is a hand-formed chawan, it is made without a wheel. It is wide and low, the kind of form that spreads across your palms when you hold it. The glaze runs from deep coral at the base up through raspberry to a pale rose-cream at the rim, and against this a wash of dark grey pools on the exterior, unplanned, the mark of fire rather than hand. No two aka-raku bowls come out of the kiln with the same surface. This one carries its firing like a weather event.

Raku-yaki (楽焼) is the oldest ceramic tradition in Japan made entirely for the tea ceremony. Each bowl is built by hand without a wheel, fired alone at low temperature, and pulled from the kiln while still glowing. The result is a clay that carries the fingerprints of its making in every surface. Ōno Kyūkō (大野九行) is a studio potter working in this tradition, with the personal seal 九行 pressed into the clay near the foot.

What makes this chawan special

The look and feel up close

Raku clay is porous and the bowl has a softness to it in the hand that high-fired stoneware does not. The walls are thick and hold warmth, which is why aka-raku is traditionally a winter bowl: deep enough to keep the tea hot during preparation on a cold morning.

The exterior texture is slightly rough where the glaze sits on the clay, smoother where it pooled. The dark gray-black fire marks on one side have a slightly different surface quality from the red areas, denser and flatter. The interior is glazed in the same pinkish red tone, lighter toward the rim.

Charming details

The dark marking on the exterior formed during the firing, not before it. Aka-raku bowls are pulled from the kiln while still hot and cooled in open air, and the atmospheric conditions at that moment leave their own record in the glaze. Every bowl comes out differently, which is why two bowls made by the same hand, from the same clay, on the same day, are never the same object.

- Maker: Ōno Kyūkō (大野九行)
- Personal seal 九行 impressed near the foot ring on the base
- Studio potter working in the raku-yaki (楽焼) tradition
- Although the exact birthplace of the maker is not widely documented, he is associated with the Kyoto region. This area is the cradle of the Raku tradition, where most kilns specializing in this technique are established.
- He worked from his own studio kiln, using the name Kyūkō (九行) as his artistic identity.
- Shōwa periode ca. 1960 – 1980 based on the glazing style and stamp.
- Height: approx. 8 cm
- Diameter: approx. 11 cm
- Weight: approx. 257 g
- Excellent condition, no chips, cracks or repairs.
- Appears unused.
- The fire marks, color variation, and glaze imperfections are lively.
- Raku ware is porous and more delicate than high-fired stoneware.
- Before first use, soak the bowl in warm water for 30 minutes, then air dry completely: this allows the clay to absorb moisture and strengthens the walls.
- Rinse with clean water after use.
- Avoid soap, which the porous clay will absorb.
- With repeated use, tea will gradually draw into the fine crackle of the glaze and build a patina that is entirely its own.