[ THE OBJECT ] Aka-raku tea bowl by Ito Keiraku (伊東桂楽), bearing the formal inscription (kakitsuke) of Takeda Ekishu (竹田益州, 1896–1989), 135th abbot of Kenniji temple, Kyoto. The bowl is named "おとずれ" (Otozure — a visit, an arrival). Bold, assertive form with an irregular rim. The surface carries dramatic interplay of dark glaze over red clay body.
[ BASIC DETAILS ] • Artist: Ito Keiraku (伊東桂楽) • Inscription: Takeda Ekishu, 135th Kenniji Kancho — mei "おとずれ" (Otozure) • Technique: Aka-raku (red raku) • Dimensions: Width 12 cm × Height 8.5 cm • Condition: With original box and inscription documents • Period: 1980s • SKU: 260228_a_2179
[ CULTURAL CONTEXT ] A kakitsuke (書付) — a named inscription by a recognized Zen authority — is among the highest forms of certification in tea ceramics. Takeda Ekishu was one of the most distinguished Zen masters of twentieth-century Japan, whose inscriptions on chawan are documented across major tea collections. His naming of this bowl "Otozure" — the sense of something arriving, of a presence making itself known — carries the weight of a practiced lifetime in contemplative culture.
[ DEEPER READING ] Ito Keiraku's form here resists the gentle. The rim holds its own irregularity without apology; the dark glaze moves over red clay with the logic of weather rather than ornament. This is not a bowl designed to please at first glance — it is designed to hold its ground across years of use. The mei "Otozure" deepens that proposition. Ekishu did not name objects lightly. The word suggests not an event but a quality: the sense that something has come to be present. In the tea room, that naming becomes instruction for how to hold the bowl and what to notice.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ] • Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days • Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking) • Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials
