Raku tea bowls were first made in Japan’s historical capital of Kyoto by a potter named Chōjirō in the sixteenth century. Shaped by hand (rather than thrown) and taken out of the kiln whilst glowing hot, their purpose was for drinking whipped tea (matcha) in the tea ceremony (chanoyu). These monochrome red or black Raku tea bowls were considered radically modern and synonymous with the ideals of wabicha tea ceremonies, with their emphasis on simplicity. Chōjirō is celebrated as the founder and first-generation head of the Raku dynasty of tea bowl makers (chawanya), who have lived and worked in Kyoto since 1586. Raku Jikinyū is the 15th descendant and heads of the Raku family have traditionally taken the first name Kichizaemon when succeeding to the family headship. In 2019 Raku Jikinyū’s son Atsundo became the head of the family and became Raku Kichizaemon XVI.

This work is from our 2024 London exhibition of new Black Rock and White Rock tea bowls made in response to the music of Alban Berg and Toru Takemitsu; composers whose music influenced and inspired him as he created the tea bowls.
“When I started working on my Rock tea bowls for this exhibition, my inclination was to work with blackness. The results – metaphors for what lies beyond language and the other side of silence – were quieter than my other recent work. By contrast, my White Rock tea bowls were experiments in the very opposite direction. I left nothingness behind me and sought to recapture beauty. Colours gushed into empty white space. I made these more expressionistic tea bowls not in response to Berg but in homage to Takemitsu.(...) With my White Rock tea bowls I have sought to fuse my soul with Takemitsu’s unique sound and free myself into a space of unrelenting whiteness.”  Raku Kichizaemon XV Jikinyu