The History of Raku. Raku began in Japan The first raku pots were made in the 16 th century The man...
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Transcript of The History of Raku. Raku began in Japan The first raku pots were made in the 16 th century The man...
Raku began in Japan
• The first raku pots were made in the 16th century
• The man who started raku was a tile maker named Chojiru
• As legend has it, one day Chojiru dropped a hot bowl from the kiln into a pot of water
• The water made the bowl turn a beautiful black color
• Chojiru then decided to experiement and make more bowls like the first one
• The word “raku” means “happiness”, “ease”, or “enjoyment” in Japanese
• Once the name raku caught on, Chojiru changed his last name to Raku, and to this day his family is still called the Raku family!
What is the tea ceremony?
• The tea ceremony is a very special activity in Japan
• The process is very precise and can even be considered a form of art
What happens in the tea ceremony?
• First the guests are given a cup of hot water
• After bowing to each guest and preparing the utensils, the host makes the tea
• The bowl of tea is passed to each guest and each one takes a single sip
• Last each guest gets their own bowl of tea to enjoy
The tea bowl
• The tea bowl is very important to the tea ceremony and is considered an object of great beauty
Tea bowls are called “chawan”
• There are many kinds of chawan
• Some are short and wide, while others are tall and skinny
• Different chawan are used for different seasons and types of tea
• While at an art fair, Soldner dropped a hot pot into a pile of leaves
• The smoke from the burning leaves changed the color of the pot
• Soldner decided to experiment with this new idea, just like Chojiru did 400 years before him!
• Paul Soldner created a very different kind of raku that is much more colorful than the Japanese raku
• He also didn’t make tea bowls, but made sculptures instead