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A chawan (茶碗; literally "tea bowl") is a bowl used for preparing and drinking tea. Many types of chawan are used in tea ceremonies.
The Jian ware chawan, a Chinese tea bowl known as Tenmoku chawan in Japan, was the preferred tea bowl for the Japanese tea ceremony until the 16th century. In Japan, tea was also mainly drunk from this Chinese variety of tea bowls until about the 15th century. The Japanese term tenmoku is derived from the name of the Tianmu Mountain, where Japanese priests acquired these tea bowls from Chinese temples to bring back to Japan, according to tradition.
An 11th-century resident of Fujian wrote about the Jian ware:
By the end of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), as the custom of tea drinking spread throughout Japan and the Tenmoku chawan became desired by all ranks of society, the Japanese began to make their own copies in Seto (in present-day Aichi Prefecture). Although the Tenmoku chawan was derived from the original Chinese that came in various colors, shapes, and designs, the Japanese particularly liked the bowls with a tapered shape, so most Seto-made Tenmoku chawan had this shape.
With the rise of the wabi tea ceremony in the late Muromachi period (1336–1573), the Ido chawan, which originated from a Met-Saabal or a large bowl used for rice in Korea, also became highly prized in Japan.
These Korean-influenced bowls were favored by the tea master Sen no Rikyū because of their rough simplicity.Sadler, A.L. Cha-No-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Tokyo: Tuttle, 1962, 67.
Over time and with the development of the Japanese tea ceremony as a distinct form, local Japanese pottery and porcelain became more highly priced and developed. Around the Edo period, the chawan was often made in Japan.
The most esteemed pieces for a tea ceremony chawan are raku ware, Hagi ware, and Karatsu ware. A saying in the tea ceremony schools for the preferred types of chawan relates: "Raku first, Hagi second, Karatsu third."
Another chawan type that became slightly popular during the Edo period from abroad was the Annan ware from Vietnam (Annam), which were originally used there as rice bowls. Annan ware is blue and white, with a high foot.
Normally the bowl would be wrapped in an orange turmeric-coloured cloth called ukon-nuno (ウコン布) for storage in the box, which apparently helps ward insects away.
A cloth bag shifuku (仕服) made out of silk or brocade can be used for storage of special tea bowls, especially for tenmoku chawan types. This is supported by four smaller cushions on each side inside the wooden box to help stabilise and protect the bowl. A more simpler cloth bag gomotsu-bukuro (御物袋) can also be used instead.
Usage
A cloth called chakin (茶巾) is used to wipe the bowl clean.
Shapes
Japanese chawan have various shapes and types, many of which have specific names:
Foot
The foot (高台 Kōdai) of the Japanese chawan can be in various different shapes and sizes. The most known are:
See also
External links
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