Okuda Eizan Zodiac Rabbit Tea Bowl - Shigaraki Chawan with Rabbit Stamp and Signed Box

Experience authentic Japanese ceramic tradition with this Zodiac Rabbit Tea Bowl (干支茶碗 巴卯) by Okuda Eizan (奥田英山). This Shigaraki Matcha Chawan serves as a Japanese Eto Zodiac collectible and Handmade Tea Ceremony Bowl, featuring an embossed Rabbit (卯) medallion stamp and warm fire-color ochre bands—a distinctive piece for any Zen Ceramic collector or Japanese calendar-art enthusiast.

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🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]

• Artist: Okuda Eizan (奥田英山)
• Technique: Shigaraki stoneware with ash glaze and embedded zodiac medallion stamp (卯/Rabbit)
• Era: Heisei period — Year of the Rabbit (卯年)
• Origin: Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
• Dimensions: Diameter approx. 12 cm × Height approx. 7.7 cm (4.7" × 3.0")
• Box: Tomobako (artist-signed wooden box, labeled 平成干支 / Heisei Zodiac)
• Condition: Excellent – no cracks, chips, or repairs

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🔹 [ CULTURAL & ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]

The eto (干支) or zodiac series is a beloved Japanese ceramic tradition in which potters create special limited editions for each year of the twelve-animal Chinese-Japanese zodiac cycle. These bowls carry double significance: as functional tea utensils and as tangible calendrical markers, each representing a specific year's spirit. The Year of the Rabbit (卯年) is associated in Japanese culture with gentleness, vigilance, and artistic sensitivity — qualities that Eizan has embedded literally into the clay of this bowl.

This tea bowl from Okuda Eizan's Shigaraki kiln features a prominent circular medallion stamp embossed into the exterior body, bearing the character 卯 (rabbit) enclosed in a ring border. Around this central emblem, the pale grey Shigaraki glaze is interrupted by warm ochre-gold bands — fire-color (火色, hino-iro) where the kiln atmosphere concentrated during the firing. The combination of grey-white glaze and amber flame-band gives this bowl a horizon-like quality, as though the bowl itself contains a landscape divided between sky and earth.

The signed tomobako specifically labels this piece 平成干支 — a Heisei-era zodiac bowl — confirming the historical context of this piece and its place in the potter's intentional series production.

*"The rabbit's character pressed into clay — gentle, watchful, present — a whole year's spirit condensed into a circle at the bowl's heart."*

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🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]

**Shigaraki Clay Character**: Shigaraki (信楽焼) is one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns, celebrated for its distinctive coarse-grained clay body containing feldspar and quartz inclusions visible on unglazed surfaces. This texture gives Shigaraki ware a raw, earthy presence that connects directly to the landscape of Shiga Prefecture. The ash glaze on this bowl is transparent enough to allow the clay's natural coloring to show through in the grey-white areas.

**The Zodiac Medallion**: The embossed 卯 stamp is applied using a ceramic seal pressed into the leather-hard clay before firing. The circular border and clear character carving indicate a purposefully designed stamp — not an incidental mark but a visual centerpiece designed to anchor the bowl's thematic identity. In the tea room, a guest's eye would inevitably travel to this mark and recognize its zodiac significance.

**Fire-Color Bands (火色)**: The warm ochre-gold horizontal bands visible across the lower body and foot of this bowl are the result of kiln-fire directly contacting the clay surface. In Shigaraki's long anagama firings, flames find paths through the stacked ware and leave permanent amber traces. These marks are prized as evidence of the firing's authenticity and intensity.

**Okuda Eizan's Zodiac Series**: Producing a dedicated zodiac series requires a potter to work twelve years in cycle, returning each year to a specific animal's character and finding a fresh ceramic expression for it. This sustained commitment to series production is a mark of a working studio with strong roots in traditional tea-ware culture.

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🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]

【基本情報】
• 作家：奥田英山
• 技法：信楽焼、灰釉、卯印象嵌
• 時代：平成（卯年）
• 産地：滋賀県・信楽
• 寸法：直径約12cm × 高さ約7.7cm
• 付属：共箱（「平成干支 巴卯」銘）
• 状態：良好（ヒビ・カケなし）

【解説】
干支茶碗は日本の陶芸における伝統的な年物で、十二支の各年ごとに特別な意匠を施した茶碗として制作されます。本作は奥田英山による信楽焼の干支茶碗で、卯（うさぎ）の文字を円形に浮彫りした印が胴部に配されています。灰釉の淡い白灰色と橙金色の火色の帯が、信楽の土の温かみを伝えています。

共箱には「平成干支 巴卯」の銘があり、平成卯年作であることが明記されています。日常の茶道具としての品格を持ちながら、干支茶碗としてのコレクション価値も高い一碗。特に卯年生まれの方への贈り物としても最適です。

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🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials

*Twelve animals, twelve years, one circle — the rabbit sits quietly in the clay, marking a year that will not return.*