description Raku Ware (Raku family) Overview
Raku ware is a distinctive Japanese pottery style developed in Kyoto during the late sixteenth century. Traditionally crafted by the Raku family, it began with Chojiro’s work for tea master Sen no Rikyu and remains a significant part of Japanese ceramic tradition. This hand-formed ware, often used for tea ceremony chawan (bowls), is valued for its unpredictable surface glazes created during reduction firing—resulting in unique textures and colors. It's primarily appreciated by collectors and those involved in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
help Raku Ware (Raku family) FAQ
How is traditional Raku ware connected to Sen no Rikyū?
The first Raku tea bowls were made by Chōjirō in sixteenth-century Kyoto in association with tea master Sen no Rikyū. Their hand-shaped forms and restrained surfaces suited Rikyū's wabi-cha ideal of simplicity and directness.
Is Japanese Raku the same as Western raku firing?
No. Traditional Raku family ware is low-fired Kyoto tea pottery, commonly removed individually from the kiln, while modern Western raku often uses post-firing reduction in combustible material. That dramatic smoke-and-crackle process became popular outside Japan but is not the traditional Raku family method.
Why are Raku tea bowls shaped by hand instead of thrown on a wheel?
Traditional Raku bowls are generally carved and shaped from a clay mass rather than wheel-thrown. This gives each chawan an individual profile, tactile irregularity, and low center of gravity suited to handling during the Japanese tea ceremony.
Does the original Raku family still make pottery?
Yes. The Kyoto workshop has continued through successive generations from Chōjirō, and Raku Kichizaemon XVI is the current head of the family line. The Raku Museum in Kyoto preserves works by earlier generations alongside related tea ceramics.
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