Akaraku Makugusuri Shōraku

Matcha tea bowl from Sasaki Shōraku III

Maku-Gusuri (the glazed curtain-like appearance) of a Aka Raku chawan (a red Raku tea bowl) is called so because the melting glaze looks like a curtain (maku) after glazing the top of a tea bowl.

First red glaze is applied to a tea bow. Afterwards more glaze is put on it and the bowl is placed into a kiln by a craftsman. This is when his skill is tested. The conditions in the kiln always need checking because if the second coat of glaze run down to the bottom, the glaze curtain doesn't appear, or if the tea bowl is taken out from the kiln too early, the curtain can't be created. The craftsman must take it out from the kiln at the perfect timing, so the curtain pattern appears.
Each Aka Raku chawan which is produced by this process has an entirely different feeling.

The glaze is not applied to the bottom of a tea bowl, so it presents the surface of the clay. The middle part of a tea bowl is slightly curved, so it is easy to hold.
This tea bowl comes with a wooden box to store in. When shipping, it is placed in a paper box for safety reasons. The wooden box will be accompanied with it.

Place of origin: Kyoto, Japan

There might be small differences in the pieces of this item in our stock and the one on the picture. If you are particular to these small differences, please contact us after placing the order and we will send you pictures of the pieces in our stock. If the picture request comes without placing an order we can only comply depending on staff capacity.
Please note that we can not guarantee that the piece(s) in our stock is the exact same as the one on the pictures.

INITIATION
We strongly recommend initiating the Raku tea bowl before use!
Raku chawan are very fragile, as the clay is very porous. When initiating with lukewarm water containing rice powder, the powder goes into the pores and strengthens the structure of the pottery.
If ordered with initiation, we can do it for you before sending the raku chawan to you. If you prefer to do the initiation yourself, you can read more about how to do it below or in our blog post about Raku chawan (also linked below).

☆ WE GUARANTEE SAFE DELIVERY - if the product gets damaged in transit we will replace or make a refund.

☆ HANDMADE PRODUCT - Please note that the item we have in stock might not be the same piece shown on the pictures above. Each piece is unique and slightly different from each other. If you are particular about either the size, the capacity or the appearance, contact us, and we will share photos or the exact details of our available pieces in stock.

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