A black raku chawan by Higaki Kazan (桧垣佳山造), titled under the theme *Uta* (歌 — Song/Poem). A polychrome enamel cartouche depicting Ono no Komachi — poetess, beauty, and subject of countless classical verses — is set against the rough-textured black glaze like a painting hung on a night wall. The interior holds a deep mirror-black surface with a faint spiral trace at center. Never used. Includes original signed tomobako with gold wax seal.
【 DETAILS 】 • Form: Matcha bowl (chawan), black raku • Decoration: Polychrome enamel cartouche — Ono no Komachi figure with poem inscription • Theme: 歌 (Uta / Song) • Dimensions: Height approx. 8.8 cm, Width approx. 10.4 cm • Condition: Unused (未使用) • Provenance: Higaki Kazan (桧垣佳山造), Kyoto raku tradition • Includes: Original signed tomobako with gold wax seal
【 CULTURAL CONTEXT 】 Ono no Komachi (小野小町) lived in the early Heian period and remains Japan's most celebrated female poet — her verses in the *Hyakunin Isshu* anthology are still memorized by schoolchildren today. On this tea bowl, her image appears as a classical court painting: robes layered in the *jūnihitoe* style, a poem scroll at her side. Higaki Kazan's choice to set this image into black raku is a studied contrast — the rawness of the raku body and the delicacy of the court figure held in the same object, the same moment. The theme *Uta* (歌) connects the act of tea to the act of poetry: both demand silence before and after.
【 DEEPER NOTES 】 The spiral trace on the interior floor — visible in raking light — is a record of the potter's last touch before releasing the vessel. The gold wax seal on the box is not decorative; it is a mark of care, the maker's assurance that this object arrived as intended. This bowl has never been used. It waits.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ] • Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days • Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking) • Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials
