Japanese Chawan Akahada-yaki Tea Bowl – by Onishi Rakusai – Signed Tomobako

📐 Features

• Height: approx. 8.5 cm
• Diameter at opening: approx. 11 cm
• Weight: approx. 339 g
• Style: Akahada-yaki (赤膚焼), traditional Nara pottery
• Estimated period: early Heisei, approx. 1990–1995
• Artisan: 尾西楽斎 Onishi Rakusai, 6th generation
• Origin: Japan, Yamatokōriyama, Nara Prefecture, unearthed in Nagasaki Prefecture
• Condition: Excellent vintage condition. No cracks or chips. Comes with its original tomobako 共箱, the cloth bearing the seal and its workshop sheet.

Description

This magnificent Akahada-yaki chawan (赤膚焼) is a piece signed by Onishi Rakusai (尾西楽斎), a major name in traditional Nara pottery. It comes from the Kohakugama kiln in Yamatokōriyama, one of the workshops that preserve this ancient tradition.

The shape of this chawan is dōjimari-gata (胴締), narrowed at the waist, giving it an elegant and pleasant feel in the hand. Its thick glaze forms drips at the foot. Its color is light, between cream, sea green, and pale celadon, and contrasts beautifully with the raw, orange-red clay of the foot, recalling the rustic and noble identity of Akahada-yaki. Inside the bowl, well-controlled kanyū crackles are visible.

Akahada-yaki is an iconic pottery from the ancient Yamato province. Its history is traditionally linked to the Kōriyama region, to Toyotomi Hidenaga, lord of Yamato-Kōriyama Castle, and to Kobori Enshū, a great tea master and central figure in Japanese aesthetics.

The Onishi Rakusai lineage holds a prestigious place in this history. This piece is the work of the 6th Onishi Rakusai, a particularly distinguished artisan. His career includes a demonstration before Emperor Shōwa in 1951, selections in public ceramic exhibitions including the Nitten, a gold medal in California competitions, and ties with the princely couple Akishino. In 1990, Onishi Rakusai received the Order of the Rising Sun. This distinction confirms the cultural importance of the artisan and his kiln in the transmission of traditional Japanese ceramics.

The workshop also supplied major shrines and religious institutions in Japan, including Tōdai-ji, Hōryū-ji, Yakushi-ji, Kashihara Jingū, and Tenrikyō.

📦 Tomobako (original box)

The original wooden box bears:

the inscription 茶碗 (chawan)
the mention 赤膚 (Akahada)
the signature 楽斎造 (Rakusai-zō), "made by Rakusai"
the official seal of the workshop.

It accompanies the piece with a cloth and the explanatory Japanese shiori.

🦝 Our Opinion

A superb Akahada-yaki chawan signed by a prestigious Nara lineage. We particularly appreciate its thick glaze, the large drips around the foot, its subtle kanyū crackles inside the bowl, its narrowed dōjimari-gata shape, and especially the raw clay of its foot, so characteristic of Akahada-yaki. A very beautiful Japanese tea piece, perfect for any lover of beautiful objects or the chanoyu tea ceremony!

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