京焼　楽焼　赤楽 Raku Ware - 川嵜康男(和楽7th.) - Tea bowl - Ceramic - Morning Star-暁の明星

This poetic Raku ware matcha tea bowl by the ceramic artist Kawasaki Waraku is titled “Akatsuki no Myōjō” (Morning Star).
The surface of the bowl is decorated with delicate white star motifs, scattered across a softly textured glaze reminiscent of a night sky gradually brightening at dawn. The title refers to the morning star, traditionally associated with the planet Venus, which appears brightly in the early sky just before sunrise.
Executed in the tradition of Raku ware, the bowl is hand-shaped and low-fired, resulting in a warm, tactile surface with natural variations in tone and texture. The soft earthy body combined with the atmospheric glaze evokes the quiet transition from night to dawn.
The slightly irregular rim and gentle asymmetry enhance the handcrafted character valued in the aesthetics of the Japanese tea ceremony, where individuality and subtle imperfection are appreciated.
The poetic theme and star decoration make this bowl particularly evocative, suggesting the calm stillness of early morning and the beauty of the sky just before daylight.

Raku ware
*川嵜康男(和楽7th.) the 7th generation Waraku
Seventh Generation: Yasuo Kawazaki Born: January 25, 1936 Succeeded: 1969

*楽焼 和楽
https://www.rakuyaki-waraku.com/about/
In the Bunsei era, the owner of the teahouse Tanzakuro in front of Gion Yasaka Shrine. The foundation of unglazed pottery started by Tanzakuya Shichizaemon was established by the second generation Shichibei, who dedicated himself to the study of Raku ware as the "Tanzakuya of Raku ware", and has continued to protect the tradition for over 200 years since then. During that time, the workshop was honored with orders from the Imperial Court and was highly valued by various Imperial families. In addition, in the early autumn of 1918, Marshal Togo Heihachiro visited our workshop when he entered Kyoto, and was given the name "Waraku" in his own handwriting. Since then, the workshop has been continued as a potter of Raku ware suitable for the tea ceremony under the name "Waraku", and has continued to this day.

*赤楽
Originally, Akaraku tea bowls were made using red clay, which contains a lot of iron. After bisque firing, they were coated with a transparent glaze and fired at around 800℃, giving them a pale red color. Nowadays, in order to achieve a more vivid red color, it is common to apply a layer of ochre, a type of clay with a high iron content, to the surface of the clay to achieve the red color. The firing temperature of around 800℃ has remained unchanged from the past to the present.

Please refer to the accompanying images for a visual representation, though note that the photos may not capture all the intricate details of this exquisite piece.

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