Raku Sonyu V Black Tea Bowl - Edo Period Kuro-Raku Chawan with Shifuku and Box

Experience authentic Japanese tea culture with this Raku Sonyu Black Tea Bowl. This Japanese Matcha Chawan serves as an Edo Period Raku Ware and Fifth Generation Kichizaemon masterwork, featuring Hand-formed Black Glaze and Kyoto Raku tradition—a must-have for any Art Collector seeking Museum Quality Tea Ceramics and Historical Japanese Art.

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🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]

• Artist: Attributed to Raku Kichizaemon V — Sonyu (五代 楽吉左衛門 宗入, 1664–1716)
• Technique: Hand-formed kuro-raku (black Raku) with single firing
• Era: Edo period (Genroku–Shōtoku era, attributed)
• Origin: Kyoto, Japan — Raku family kiln
• Dimensions: 11 cm (4.3") diameter × 7.8 cm (3.1") height
• Box: Tomobako with Raku seal, silk shifuku pouch with cord, inner cloth wrapper
• Condition: Good — consistent with age; minor wear from centuries of use

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🔹 [ CULTURAL & ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]

Sonyu, the fifth-generation Raku master, occupies a pivotal position in the 450-year Raku lineage. Working during the culturally efflorescent Genroku period (1688–1704), when the decorative arts reached peak extravagance, Sonyu chose the opposite direction. He turned backward to Chōjirō, the founding ancestor, stripping away the accumulated embellishments of intervening generations to rediscover the essential nature of Raku.

This act of deliberate return—rejecting the fashionable to recover the fundamental—defines Sonyu's contribution to Japanese ceramic history. His black tea bowls are characterized by quiet dignity, restrained form, and a depth of glaze that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it.

*"Three generations of elaboration, then the fifth master remembered: the first bowl was already complete."*

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🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]

**The Sonyu Aesthetic**: Where his predecessors Ichinyu (IV) and Dōnyu/Nonkō (III) had expanded the Raku vocabulary with increasingly dynamic forms and varied glazes, Sonyu reversed course. His bowls return to the quiet, almost austere simplicity of Chōjirō's original vision—straight walls, modest proportions, and an emphasis on the inherent character of the black glaze itself.

**Black Glaze Character**: The kuro-raku glaze on this bowl displays the characteristic transition from deep, lustrous black at the rim and upper body to a textured grey-white zone toward the base. This effect results from the single dramatic firing: the bowl is pulled from the kiln at peak temperature and exposed to the atmosphere, creating differential cooling that produces these tonal variations. No two firings produce identical results.

**Provenance and Attribution**: The tomobako bears the inscription "黒茶" (black tea bowl) and "楽吉左衛門" (Raku Kichizaemon) with the Raku family seal. The complete presentation—tomobako, silk shifuku, and inner cloth—indicates this bowl has been treasured and transmitted through the formal protocols of tea culture. Attribution to historical Raku generations requires careful scholarly assessment; this listing presents the box inscription faithfully.

**The Bowl in Hand**: At 11 cm diameter and 7.8 cm height, this bowl possesses the substantial presence characteristic of Sonyu's black tea bowls. The slightly undulating rim and the weight of the hand-formed Raku clay create a meditative tactile experience. The centuries of use visible in the surface add cultural weight that no reproduction can possess.

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🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]

【基本情報】
• 作家：五代 楽吉左衛門 宗入（伝）（1664–1716）
• 技法：手捏ね黒楽・一度焼成
• 時代：江戸時代（元禄〜正徳年間）
• 産地：京都（楽家窯）
• 寸法：径約11cm × 高さ約7.8cm
• 付属：共箱（楽印あり）・仕覆・古帛紗
• 状態：時代相応の良好な状態

【解説】
五代楽吉左衛門・宗入（1664–1716）は楽焼450年の歴史において転換点となった陶工である。元禄の華やかな時代にあって、あえて初代長次郎への回帰を志し、装飾を削ぎ落とした本質的な黒楽茶碗を追求した。

本作は深い黒釉が上部から裾にかけて灰白に変化する宗入の特徴を示す。窯から引き出された瞬間の劇的な温度差が生み出すこの景色は、二度と同じものが現れない一回性の美である。

仕覆・古帛紗・共箱の完全な付属品は、本碗が茶の湯の正式な伝来の中で大切に受け継がれてきたことを示している。楽印入り箱書きに基づく伝承品。

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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

*Five generations of hands, one return to the beginning—the black glaze still holds the silence of the first firing.*