Many people would like to try matcha or powdered green tea from this raku tea bowl once.
“Kuro raku chawan” or literally a black pleasure tea bowl displayed in an antique store in NISHIOGI.
Raku ware is handmade pottery invented in the 16th century in that the bowl is made by kneading clay without using a wheel, shaving off its surface with a pallet to improve the shape and being baked at a low temperature. Slight distortion and thickness difference produce a distinctive flavor. It is said that this method embodied the spirit of “Wabi-cha” or the tea ceremony pursuing the beauty of simplicity, which was perfected by a tea master, Sen-no-Rikyu.
The storekeeper commented,” Raku ware is popular in the tea ceremony. There are red and black bowls; the red bowl was loved by a warlord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, while the black one, by Sen-no-Rikyu. He made tea and fairly served warlords irrespective of their position, so they gave a boost to the popularity of the tea ceremony.”
千利休が愛した楽茶碗
一度はこのような「楽茶碗」で抹茶を服してみたいものです。
西荻北地区の骨董店に展示されている「黒楽茶碗」。
「楽焼（らくやき）」は、桃山時代、ロクロを使わず、手で土をこねて形をつくり、ヘラで削って姿を整え低温で焼く技法です。僅かな歪みや厚みの違いにより器ごとに独特の風味が生じ、これこそが千利休が完成した「侘び茶」の精神を具現化する技法といわれます。
店主のコメント「楽茶碗は茶道で人気のある器です。赤楽茶碗と黒楽茶碗があるが、赤は豊臣秀吉好み、黒は千利休好みです。千利休は戦国武将を相手に、地位の如何を問わず同じ目線で茶をたてたので、武将が茶道人気を盛り上げました。」
