Split Black and Gold Raku Tea Bowl 'Zuiun' by Shoraku III - Two-Tone Kyoto Chawan

Experience authentic Japanese tea culture with this Raku Tea Bowl by Shōraku III. This Japanese Matcha Chawan serves as a Kyoto Raku Tradition work and Two-Tone Ceramic Art, featuring Black Glaze Contrast and Sandy Clay Texture—a must-have for any Art Collector seeking Wabi Sabi Tea Accessories and Contemporary Raku Pottery with a Signed Wooden Box.

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🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]

• Artist: Shōraku III (三代松楽, Sandai Shōraku) — Shōraku kiln, Kyoto
• Technique: Split-glaze raku — kuro-raku (black) and unglazed natural clay
• Bowl Name: Zuiun (瑞雲) — "Auspicious Cloud"
• Era: Contemporary (2000s–2020s)
• Origin: Kyoto, Japan
• Dimensions: 12 cm (4.7") diameter × 8 cm (3.1") height
• Box: Signed tomobako inscribed "瑞雲 茶碗 松楽造" with 楽 (Raku) seal
• Condition: New / Unused

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🔹 [ CULTURAL & ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]

The Shōraku kiln represents a living thread in the broader Kyoto raku tradition. Now in its third generation, the kiln produces tea bowls that honor the fundamental raku principles—hand-forming, low-fire glazing, and single-piece firing—while bringing contemporary artistic vision to each work.

This bowl's most arresting quality is its deliberate division: one half cloaked in deep, glossy black raku glaze; the other left as rough, sandy golden-ochre clay. The contrast is absolute. Smooth against rough. Dark against light. Finished against raw. The split runs through the interior as well, creating a bowl that exists simultaneously in two states—as though capturing the exact moment where intention meets material.

The name Zuiun (瑞雲), "Auspicious Cloud," evokes the forms that appear in Buddhist and Shintō iconography as harbingers of sacred presence.

*"Half the bowl is darkness. Half is earth. The border between them is where the potter chose to stop—and where meaning begins."*

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🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]

**The Philosophy of Division**: The half-and-half composition is more than decorative technique. In Japanese aesthetics, the juxtaposition of opposites—yin and yang, sabi and miyabi, nature and culture—creates a third meaning that exists only in the tension between them. This bowl embodies that principle physically: the black glaze speaks of human mastery; the raw clay speaks of material honesty. Neither dominates.

**Black Raku Glaze**: The black half displays the classic kuro-raku surface—glossy, deep, and light-absorbing. This glaze requires precise temperature control during the dramatic extraction firing: the bowl is pulled from the kiln at roughly 1000°C and exposed to the open air. The thermal shock produces the characteristic glass-like surface.

**Raw Clay Character**: The unglazed half reveals the naked clay body in its golden-ochre warmth. Subtle tool marks remain visible—traces of the paddle, the trimming blade, the potter's fingers. This is clay before transformation, clay as it was before fire intervened. The sandy, matte texture invites touch in a way that glossy glaze deliberately resists.

**Interior Mirror**: The split continues inside the bowl, meaning the tea itself will sit at the meeting point of two surfaces. During use, the matcha's vivid green will appear differently against black glaze versus bare clay—creating a shifting visual experience with every sip.

**The Shōraku Lineage**: The three generations of the Shōraku kiln have maintained their position within Kyoto's demanding tea ceramics community by balancing respect for raku orthodoxy with willingness to explore. This bowl represents that balance: the technique is traditional; the concept is contemporary.

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🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]

【基本情報】
• 作家：三代松楽（松楽窯・京都）
• 技法：楽焼・黒釉と素地の掛け分け
• 銘：瑞雲
• 時代：現代（2000〜2020年代）
• 産地：京都
• 寸法：径約12cm × 高さ約8cm
• 付属：共箱（「瑞雲 茶碗 松楽造」楽印）
• 状態：未使用

【解説】
三代松楽による楽焼茶碗「瑞雲」。最大の特徴は、碗の半分を深い光沢の黒楽釉で覆い、もう半分を砂質の金褐色素地のまま残した大胆な掛け分けにある。

滑らかと粗い、暗と明、人為と自然——二つの対極が一碗の中で出会う。この分割は見込み（内側）にも貫かれており、点てた抹茶の緑が黒釉と素地で異なる表情を見せる。

「瑞雲」の銘は仏教・神道の瑞兆の雲に通じ、聖なる気配の到来を暗示する。松楽窯三代にわたる楽焼の正統性と現代的な造形感覚が高い次元で融合した一碗。新品未使用。

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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

*One bowl, two truths. The black glaze knows what fire does. The bare clay remembers what fire hasn't yet touched. The border between them holds everything.*