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This listing is for a special Ohi-ware ‘Higashi’ chawan made by master potter, Ohi Chozaemon X. It is wheel-thrown and coated in glossy ‘hijiri’ caramel coloured glaze, with a kushigaki comb pattern on the exterior of the bowl.  The interior of the bowl is inscribed with the kanji ‘higashi’, which means east.  This is in reference to Todaiji Temple in Nara, the Great Eastern Temple.  This particular style of chawan was created for a special ceremony held at Todaiji Temple.  The green profile paper explains the meaning of this bowl, here is a translation.

 “Autumn 1980, at Todaiji Temple, the ‘Grand Memorial Service’ was held to commemorate the ‘Major Repair in Showa’ of the Great Buddha Hall.  It was a magnificent ceremony that seemed to be the same as the Tenpyo era ‘Kaigen Hoyo’ ceremony. (‘Kaigen Hoyo’ means ‘Eye Opening’ ceremony, it’s held to enshrine a newly built Buddhist image and to put in a spirit to open its eyes to Buddhism).  Hounsai Daisosho, the 15^th generation Oiemoto of Urasenke, served at this great puja (in Buddhism, a puja is a gathering of monks and believers to preach Buddhism, hold memorial services, to host and honor a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event).  He uttered his words while looking up at the Daibutsu-san.  Hounsai offered teachings as a ‘Shoan-sama’, that being the official title of someone permitted to perform tea ceremony in front of Daibutsu-san.  Perhaps because of that, I (Chozaemon X), came up with the idea of holding the annual tea ceremony at Todaiji Temple.  His Holiness Sahoyama Gyoukai (1907-1990), who was the head of the temple at that time, always wished to offer tea to the Great Buddha.  This "wish" soon came to fruition, and on May 3 1990, the first Kegon Sect Tea Ceremony was held.  The gift for attending this ceremony was a bamboo futaoki, the choice of His Holiness.  The grand master Hounsai, who always prays for peace with a bowl of tea, prayed for Emperor Shomu's peace on the four seas, and for the bliss of all people (Emperor Shomu was the founder of Todaiji Temple).  It became customary for Hounsai to offer a new bowl of tea every year to the Great Buddha of Rushana (Daibutsu).  Todai-ji Temple also held a grand tea ceremony for their 150^th Anniversary Memorial Service, and in the early spring of 2003 the ‘Hatsugama Ceremony’ was held to celebrate the succession of Iemoto Zabosai Sen Soshitsu XVI, who formally succeeded his father as the head of Konnichi-an tea room.  This occasion happened to be the 22^nd tea ceremony to be held that year. The Kegon Tea Ceremony was an especially meaningful meeting as it was the first service to be held with the new Iemoto (master).  To commemorate this occasion, Chozaemon X, who has a deep connection with Urasenke Konnichi-an, offered a special service, and it was decided to use the Higashi no tea bowl for this special event.  The long red ‘kugefuu tenkoku’ stamp on the paper enclosed in the box was designed specifically for this occasion, and it was made to resemble the style of seals used by court nobles.  Chozaemon expressed his hope that the chawan will become a longtime favourite, and that it will continue to be used long after Zabosai’s ceremony.”

 Chozaemon’s signature and Ohi stamp can be found on the bottom, and it comes with its original signed wooden storage box. It also comes with a stamped turmeric coloured wrapping cloth for when the item is not in use, as well as several profile papers.  One paper is about Chozaemon, and the green paper explains the story behind the creation of the ‘higashi no’ bowl that was translated above.  The smaller stamped paper is the special ‘kugefuu tenkoku’ (long style) stamp that was prepared specifically for this bowl.  There’s also another small paper explaining that they had originally planned to place the kugefuu tenkoku stamp on the box, however they were not able to complete preparations in time before the ceremony.

Ohi Chozaemon X (b.1927) is the 10th generation master from the Chozaemon family dynasty of Ohi potters in Ishikawa Prefecture. The family is now in its 11th generation, so the 10th has assumed the title of Ohi Toyasai. Toyasai’s illustrious career spans some 60 years and he is responsible for producing some of the most spectacular Nara Sansai pieces the modern world has seen. He was a recipient of the Order of Culture, an honour bestowed upon individuals by the Emperor of Japan. A list of his achievements can be found on the Ohi Museum website.

Ohi-ware refers to pottery made in Ohi town in Kanazawa Prefecture. It is made of soft clay and fired at low temperatures, and features what is known as an ame-yu glaze. Ohi-ware’s ame-yu glaze is a golden or caramel coloured glaze with a glossy finish. Ohi-ware is generally shaped by hand and fired in a way not so different from Raku-ware. The temperature is increased sharply over a short period of time, and the piece is removed from the kiln whilst the glaze is still melting. This causes the piece to cool down rapidly, thus creating the beautiful rich colour and lustre.                                                                 

Sizes

Box:  H.9.8cm (3.8”) x 16.2cm (6.3”) x 16.2cm (6.3”)

Chawan:  H.5.3cm (2”) x Dia.14cm (5.5”)                                                                                 

Condition

It’s in very good condition with no chips or cracks, and was perhaps only used for the ceremony if at all.                                                                                                                   

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