Shōraku 昭楽 - Kuro-raku Omokage Black Raku Chawan

This Kuro-raku chawan (matcha bowl) is a replica (写 - utsushi) of Omokage (面影): a 16th century bowl made by Chōjirō’(長次郎), the progenitor of the Raku chawan style and the Raku family. Like the original, it has a subtly asymmetrical shape with undulations on one side and a slight waist on the other with patches of rusty red brown accenting the black glaze. Handbuilt from Shoraku's lightweight clay blend and coated with a glaze made from the rocks at the bottom of the Kamō River, each chawan is then fired individually at around 1000C for three minutes before being removed from the heat while red hot and cooled rapidly.Made by Sasaki Shōraku (佐々木昭楽) of Shōraku Kiln (昭楽窯). This is the same Sasaki Shōraku that produces work signed (松楽), which is also read as Shōraku. Works stamped (松楽 - Shōraku) are more entry grade, whereas works stamped (昭楽 - Shōraku) are of a higher quality. The current kiln is located in Kameoka, Kyōto and was built in 1944. That same year, Sasaki Shōraku was born, and