Raku

A vase glazed and fired using the Western Raku technique, showing the soot, crackle glazing, and random oxidation typical of this pottery technique.

Raku (樂) or Rakuyaki (樂焼き) is a form of Japanese pottery characterized by very simple, hand-formed bowls, using low firing temperatures (resulting in a fairly porous body), lead glazes, and the removal of pieces from the kiln while still glowing hot. In the traditional Japanese firing process, the pot is removed from the hot kiln and allowed to cool in the open air. Raku is considered the traditional method for creating bowls for the Japanese Tea ceremony. Raku tea bowls are hand-made from earthenware, each with a unique shape, glaze and style.

For fifteen generations, Raku has been the title and seal used by a lineage of potters whose work formed the central tradition in Japan. Both the name and the ceramic style have been passed down through the family to the present. Raku was also made by numerous workshops in and around Kyoto; by amateur potter tea practitioners; and by professional and amateur potters around Japan after the publication of a manual in the 18th century.

Today, raku ware is known worldwide as a popular form of ceramic technique. The Zen philosophy has not been exported with the technique. Many potters in countries other than Japan use this process as the kiln need not be large and the results can be exciting, although the technique takes some time to master.

History

The making of raku ware was initiated during the Momoyama period (1573-1615) by Chojiro. At that time, San cai ware (three colored bowls), was based on technology from the Fujian region of China in and around Kyoto. Records confirm that Chojiro's father, Ameya, originally from China, is thought to have introduced the techniques though none of his own bowls survive.

Sen no Rikyu

In the sixteenth century, the first of these potters, Chojiro (長次郎), is said to have come under the patronage of the Japanese tea master Sen-No-Rikyu, (1522-1591), who asked Chojiro to make tea bowls for the tea ceremony under his guidance to meet the tea aesthetics of wabicha, (green tea ceremony). From that collaboration raku ware came into existence. According to legend, in 1598, the ruler Hideyoshi, presented the family with a golden seal with the written symbol "raku". The family then took the family name, Raku.

Chojiro's tea bowls were initially called "ima-yaki", literally "now wares", or of the "present time". They were subsequently renamed juraku-yaki, "juraku wares", due to the fact that Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), the leading warrior statesman of the time, presented Chojiro with a seal bearing the Chinese character for Raku. The term Raku derived from Jurakudai, the name of a palace built by Hideyoshi, one of the great symbols of his age. This is the only example in the history of a family name becoming synonymous with the ceramics they produced. Furthermore, few potter families have continued in an unbroken line in the way the Raku family has done in Japan.

Raku ware marked an important point in the historical development of Japanese ceramics, as it is the first ware to use a seal mark and the first to focus on close collaboration between potter and patron. Other famous Japanese clay artists of this period include Donyu (1574-1656), Hon'ami Kōetsu (1556-1637) and Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743).

There are several "schools" of Japanese pottery,each of which is focused on a particular region and the nature of the clay that is found there. There are six main schools, or kilns, in Japan, some dating back to the twelfth century. These schools and their modern-day locations are: • Bizen (Okayama) • Shigaraki (Shiga) • Seto (Aichi) • Echizen (Fukui) • Tamba (Hyogo) • Tokoname (Aichi)

Each ceramic style has its own special look as a result of not only the form and glaze of the pottery but the chemical composition of the clay of the region, the minerals in the clay, (ex. iron and magnesium fuse with clay to provide different colors and surface textures) and the type of wood used to fire a kiln producing a unique style.

Chojiro's Style and philosophy

A 16th century black raku-style chawan, named, "Amadera", from the house of Chojiro (Tokyo National Museum)

The raku tea bowls, as pioneered by Chojiro, used monochrome black or red glazes - in marked contrast to the brightness of the san cai wares from which they evolved. His work reflected a unique aesthetic which aims to eliminate movement, decoration and variation of form. His raku wares symbolize more directly than any other kind of ceramic, the ideals of wabicha,("cha" meaning "tea") the form of the tea ceremony based on the aesthetics of wabi advocated by Sen no Rikyu.

Raku wares are hand-formed rather than thrown on the wheel, which makes them very different from other kinds of Japanese ceramics. Hand-forming allows the spirit of the artist to speak through the finished work with particular directness and intimacy. Chojiro, however, through his negation of movement, decoration and variation of form, went beyond the boundaries of individualistic expression and elevated the tea bowl into a manifestation of abstract spirituality.

His works aim at "monochromatic silence", as if creativity tries to go beyond the act of creation itself, a paradoxical and extraordinary spiritual effort.

Lineage of the Raku House

Fifteen generations of Raku family members have directed the raku potteries until today. Tanaka Sokei, 1534?-1594, directed the raku workshop together with Chojiro and the grandfather of Chojiro's wife. He became the master potter after the death of Chojiro. Jokei II, Sokei's son was adopted by Chojiro, inheriting the Raku name and pottery.

Jokei introduced a white glaze and more movement to the pottery shape. His son, Donyu III, 1599-1656, is considered the most skillful raku potter. Ichinyu IV, 1640-1696, the eldest son of Donyu, was only 17 when his father died. His style is closer to that of Chojiro than to the more innovative and decorative style of Donyu. He invented the shuyaku glaze, the black glaze mottled with the red, which made a significant influence on the work of successive generations.

Sonyu V, 1664-1716, was born as a son of Kariganeya Sanuemon, the head of a great artistic family, wand later adopted by Ichinyu to carry on the Raku name and works. Sanyu VI, 1685-1739, was born as a son of Yamatoya Kahei and later taken into the Raku family as Sonyu's son-in-law. Chonyu VII (1714-1770), was the eldest son of Sanyu, his tea bowls are uniformly large and modest.

His son, Tokunyu VIII 1745-1774, followed him; and then Tokunyu's brother, and Tokunyu's second son, Ryonyu IX 1756-1834; and his son, Tannyu X 1795-1854. Keinyu XI 1817-1902, was adopted as Tannyu's son-in-law; and then his eldest son, Konyu XII 1857-1932, became director. He was confronted with difficulties together with his father when he succeeded to the house, since the tea cult was still in decline at the dawn of the modernization of the Meiji period.

He was followed by Seinyu XIII 1887-1944, the eldest son of Konyu, succeeded as the 13th generation in 1919. Seinyu's 57 years was certainly not the happiest, with the outbreak of two successive World Wars. He principally followed the traditional style of Raku tea bowls, reflecting his serious personality. He was an enthusiastic researcher on glazes, applying various minerals from different sources in Japan for the experimentation of glazes. Studying at the Tokyo School of Art helped him to establish a unique style of his own, clearly distinguished from those of the past generation. His trimming is more precisely applied for the purpose of giving structural power to the composition of tea bowls.

Kichizaemon XV, born in 1949, assumed leadership in 1981. He is the current head of the Raku House, and the fifteenth in line of leadership. After graduating from the Sculptural Department of the Tokyo University of Fine Arts in 1973, he went to Italy for further studies.The house and the workshop are located on the west side of the former Imperial Palace in Kyoto, still maintaining a traditional Kyoto style architectural design. A small museum at the site holds many of the historical raku bowls.

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Instruments for the tea ceremony

Matcha tea served with sweets

The role of the raku bowl is tied profoundly to the success of the tea ceremony. Japanese Chado, or Sado (“way of tea”), or Cha-no-yu (“hot-water tea”), a time-honored institution in Japan, is rooted in the principle of Zen Buddhism and founded upon the adoration of the beautiful in the daily routine of life. It is an aesthetic way of entertaining guests, in which everything is done according to an established order. Without the proper raku tea bowl and utensils there can be no tea ceremony. The nature of the bowl, dependent on the artisan, determines the success or failure of the tea ceremony.

The strict practices of the Japanese Tea ceremony required careful selection of the bowls and instruments each year to reflect the spiritual practice of the tea master. The choosing of the year's bowl gave prestige to the family of potters that created it and could bring fame or disgrace to the potteries who vied for the honor of the acceptance by the tea master. Each bowl chosen was given a name that reflected the character held within the bowl. Only the greatest tea master could receive the Emperor and other dignitaries, to his tea ceremony, which gave the master great honor and increased his reputation as well as that of the raku pottery. The bowls could make or break the prestige of the master. For this reason pottery houses would break any inferior bowls to protect their name.

Only in modern times have women been allowed to perform the Cha-no-yu.

Western raku techniques

Raku in the west is popular because the results offer a myriad of unique iridescent glazes, crackling and black-soot dyed surfaces. The kilns need not be large as in stoneware firing but the challenge is to take a pot out of a very red hot kiln with heavy gloves, a safety mask and tongs and then place it into a receptacle for burning without breaking the pot. The lid must be placed on it quickly as the organic materials burst into flame which produces the soot color on the body of the pot. The pot then must be scrubbed after cooling to remove this soot and reveal what the magic of raku produces. The results often disappoint the potter but the fast firing time encourages potters to "try it again." Very large pieces are especially difficult to lift out of the kiln.

Western raku is typically made from a stoneware clay body, bisque fired at 900°C (1650°F) and glaze fired (the final firing) between 800-1000°C (1450-1800°F), which falls into the cone 06 firing temperature range. The process is known for its unpredictability, particularly when reduction is forced, (firing with inadequate oxygen and large amounts of carbon (smoke, unburned fuel). Copper oxide will become pure copper in a reduction fire), and pieces may crack or even explode due to thermal shock. Pots may be returned to the kiln to re-oxidize if firing results do not meet the potter's expectations, although each successive firing has a high chance of weakening the overall structural integrity of the pot. Pots that are exposed to thermal shock multiple times can break apart in the kiln, as they are removed from the kiln, or when they are in the reduction chamber.

The use of a reduction chamber at the end of the raku firing was introduced by the American potter Paul Soldner in the 1960s, in order to compensate for the difference in atmosphere between wood-fired Japanese raku kilns and gas-fired American kilns. Typically, pieces removed from the hot kiln are placed in masses of combustible material (e.g., straw, sawdust, or newspaper) in order to provide a reducing atmosphere for the glaze, and to stain the exposed body surface with carbon.

Raku pottery ball with crackled glaze

Western raku potters rarely use lead as a glaze ingredient, due to its serious level of toxicity. Japanese potters also substitute a non-lead frit. Although almost any low-fire glaze can be used, potters often use specially formulated glaze recipes that "crackle" or craze (present a cracked appearance), because the crazing lines take on a dark color from the carbon.

Flaming Pots

The glaze firing times for raku ware are short, an hour or two as opposed to up to 16 hours for high-temperature cone 10 stoneware firings. This is due to several factors: raku glazes mature at a much lower temperature (under 1800°F, as opposed to almost 2300°F for high-fire stoneware), kiln temperatures can be raised rapidly, and the kiln is loaded and unloaded while hot and can be kept hot between firings.

Because temperature changes are rapid during the raku process, bodies used for raku ware must be able to cope with significant thermal stress. The usual way of dealing with this is to incorporate a high percentage of quartz, Grog (prefired clay that has been finely ground), or Kyanite into the body before the pot is formed. Each of these materials is used to add strength to the clay body and to reduce thermal expansion. When used for over 10% of the clay body, quartz can cause dunting or shivering (glaze defects) therefore, Kyanite is often the preferred material because it contributes both mechanical strength and, in amounts up to 20%, it significantly reduces thermal expansion. Although any clay body can be used, most porcelains and white stoneware clay bodies are unsuitable for the Western raku process unless some material is added to deal with thermal shock.

Notes

Western raku pottery kiln

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Hamer, Frank and Janet. The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques, A & C Black Publishers, Limited, 1991. ISBN 0-8122-3112-0.
• Peterson, Susan. The Craft and Art of Clay, The Overlook Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87951-634-8.
• Pitelka, Morgan. Handmade Culture: Raku Potters, Patrons, and Tea Practitioners in Japan, University of Hawaii Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8248-2970-0.

See also

• Tea ceremony
• Chawan: (A chawan (茶碗) is a bowl used for preparing and drinking matcha (powdered green tea) in Japanese tea ceremonies. In Japan, "chawan" also refers to bowls for drinking regular green tea, as well as to bowls for rice. If it is necessary to distinguish between them, bowls for tea are called yunomi chawan, and bowls for rice are called gohan chawan. In tea ceremony, the word chawan is normally prefixed with the honorific o-.)

External links

• Raku museum Kyoto. www.raku-yaki.or.jp. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
• e-yakimono.net. www.e-yakimono.net. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
• Raku Glaze Recipes. www.garyrferguson.com. Retrieved August 19, 2007.

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