{"product_id":"black-raku-chawan-kissho-by-kizu-kiraku-maeda-shodo-certified-tea-bowl","title":"Black Raku Chawan 'Kissho' by Kizu Kiraku — Maeda Shodo Certified Tea Bowl","description":"A black raku chawan named Kissho (吉祥, auspiciousness) by Kizu Kiraku, bearing the certified inscription of tea master Maeda Shodo — a piece whose authorship is guaranteed by two hands, potter and master alike. The glaze is a deep, dense black dusted throughout with fine gold particles that catch light like stars through a moonless sky. The form is compact and cylindrical with a subtly tapered base, weighing in the hand with the quiet authority that only hand-formed raku can provide. Comes with original wood box and certified lid inscription.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e• Potter: Kizu Kiraku (木津喜楽)\u003cbr\u003e• Certification: Maeda Shodo (前田昌道) — tea master's inscribed box lid (書付)\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Kuro-raku (黒楽), hand-formed and individually fired\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Contemporary (Showa–Heisei)\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Japan\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Dimensions not marked on piece — approximately H 7.5–8 cm, Rim diameter 10–11 cm based on visual proportions\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Original wood box with inner lid bearing Maeda Shodo's certification (書付箱)\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Very good. No chips or cracks. The rough lower clay body and uneven lip are intentional formal qualities, not defects. Gold flecking in glaze is inherent to the firing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003eKuro-raku (black raku) is the form that Sen no Rikyu established as the ideal vessel for wabi-cha — tea practiced in the spirit of restraint, impermanence, and the beauty of unadorned form. The black glaze absorbs everything: light, attention, the spectator's expectation of ornament. What remains is pure presence. In a tradition that values emotional silence above display, the black chawan becomes the room's center of gravity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe practice of sho-tsuke (書付) — a tea master writing an inscription and name on the box — is one of the oldest forms of certification in Japanese craft. It is not marketing; it is accountability. Maeda Shodo's inscription connects this bowl to a living lineage of tea knowledge and provides the collector with an unbroken chain of transmission.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003eWhat is immediately apparent in the images — and confirmed on handling — is the glaze's extraordinary character. It is not a flat black. Within the deep ground, countless tiny particles of gold-tone material are suspended, producing an effect that shifts between matte and luminous depending on the angle and quality of light. In a candlelit tea room, this bowl appears to breathe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe name Kissho (吉祥) — auspiciousness, the coming together of good forces — was chosen deliberately. In the raku tradition, naming a bowl is an act of intention: the potter decides what spirit the object carries into the world. Kizu Kiraku's choice of Kissho for a bowl of such solemn visual character is an act of productive contradiction — dark form, luminous name — and this tension is precisely what makes the piece memorable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book-shaped inner lid of the box carries Maeda Shodo's calligraphy: 黒楽茶碗 銘 吉祥 — Black Raku Tea Bowl, Named Auspiciousness — followed by his signature and seal. This inscription panel is itself a work of calligraphy. Together with the outer box inscribed 楽焼 黒茶盌, the complete object constitutes a ceremonial document as much as a ceramic vessel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKizu Kiraku's stamp is visible on the foot of the bowl — small, pressed clearly into the clay before firing. The foot itself is rough, broad, and low — set close to the ground — in the manner of the best raku forms. This groundedness is not rusticity; it is the result of studied simplicity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the serious collector: a sho-tsuke piece by a named tea master represents the most formal category of Japanese tea ceramics. This is an object with a complete identity — name, maker, certifier, and vessel — that will only deepen in significance with time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[ JAPANESE DESCRIPTION \/ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e木津喜楽造、前田昌道書付の黒楽茶碗、銘「吉祥」。深い黒釉全体に金砂子を散らした景色は、夜空の星を思わせる静謐さと輝きを持つ。手捏ねの形状は素朴にして堂々とし、利休の侘び茶精神を体現する。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e書付箱とは、茶人が箱蓋裏に茶碗の銘・作者・評価を直筆で認めたもので、この茶碗には前田昌道が「黒楽茶碗 銘 吉祥」と揮毫し、その来歴を保証している。楽焼における書付は最も正式な鑑定形式であり、美術品としての価値を明確に担保する。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e銘「吉祥」は重厚な黒と対照的な命名であり、その緊張感こそがこの碗の記憶に残る所以。木津喜楽の印が高台脇に確認できる。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ SHIPPING \u0026amp; PACKAGING ]\u003cbr\u003e• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days\u003cbr\u003e• Carrier: Japan Post EMS \/ UPS (with tracking)\u003cbr\u003e• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61654047359346,"sku":"260307_a_2408","price":1266.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m58712373472_1.jpg?v=1773284797","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/black-raku-chawan-kissho-by-kizu-kiraku-maeda-shodo-certified-tea-bowl","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}