赤楽茶碗 銘 太郎坊 本阿弥光悦作あからくぢゃわん たろうぼう(ほんなみこうえつ)

  • 京都・鷹ケ峰
  • 江戸時代初期
  • 17c
  • 赤樂陶製
  • H-9.9 D-13
  • 所蔵
    寺村紹旦、永楽和全、岸 光景旧蔵

江戸時代 17世紀
高:9.9cm 口径:12.1-12.7cm 高台径:4.5-4.8cm

本阿弥光悦(1558~1637)は本来刀剣の磨れい,浄拭を本職とするが,一方寛永の三筆の一人として知られるように能書家であり,また当時を代表する茶人でもあった。ことに光悦は作陶に長じ,茶碗を中心に優れた作品を残している。光悦の作陶は,元和元年(1615)に徳川家康より鷹峰の地を拝領してから始まったと言われている。光悦はこの地で作陶をし,昵懇であった楽家の窯で焼いている。ちなみに,当時の楽家の当主は二代常慶と三代道入の時代である。
光悦の茶碗は作行きの違いによって大別することができる。すなわち,白楽茶碗「不二山」のように腰の張った半筒形と,赤楽茶碗「乙御前」のような腰の丸い茶碗である。かつて光悦の茶碗として認められていた作品はわずか数十碗であったが,近年ことに声価が高く,これまでに知られていない茶碗が紹介されるようになった。この茶碗もこれまで紹介されていない一碗である。腰を丸く削り,高台をとくに設けずに底を削り込んで高台としている方法は,光悦の茶碗によく見られるところである。見込みは深く,見込み中央にはわずかに茶溜りがつけられ,口端は鋭く切りまわされている。赤土が用いられているようであるが,道入の赤楽のような発色ではなく,全体に白みをおびた釉色を成し,一部暗灰色を呈している。成形時に胎土に無理がかかったようで,焼成中に腰の一部に割れが生じている。箱書は薮内家七代竹翁紹智。 (赤沼)

Catalogue Entry

by Honnami Koetsu
Edo period, 17th century
Red Raku ware
Height, 9.9cm; mouth diameter, 12.1-12.7cm;
foot diameter, 4.5-4.8cm

Originally a sword appraiser and polisher, Hon-nami Koetsu (1558-1637) was a renowned calligrapher famous as one of the three premier calligraphers of the Kan'ei era, as one of the major tea masters of his day, and also as an excellent potter. Tea bowls comprise the majority of the extant ceramic works by Koetsu. It is said that Koetsu began making ceramics when Tokugawa Ieyasu presented him with land in Takagamine in 1615 (Genna 1). Koetsu made his ceramic works at this Takagamine site and had then fired in the Raku family kiln, they were familiar with Koetsu. This was during the period of the 2nd and 3rd generation heads of the Raku family, Jokei and Donyu respectively, who were friends of Koetsu.

Koetsu's tea bowls can be largely divided into 2 types, those of the taut-hipped, semi-cylindrical form, as seen in the bowl known as Fujisan, and the rounded-hip form as seen in the red Raku tea bowl, Otogoze. While in the past only a few dozen tea bowls were confirmed to be by Koetsu, in recent years his works have become more highly valued and as a result a number of previously unknown bowls have been introduced. This is one such previously unknown bowl. The hip area has been carved into a rounded form, and the foot cut extremely low and inward into the bowl form--characteristics often seen in Koetsu tea bowls. The interior of this bowl is deep; there is a bit of a depression in the bottom of the bowl for the pooling of the tea, and the mouth edge is sharply cut. While red clay appears to have been used for this bowl, it did not fire to as vivid a color as those seen in Donyu's red raku wares, and overall there is a whitish tinged glaze color with some dark gray color. There seems to have been some overworking of the clay when the bowl was shaped and a section of the hip cracked during firing.
The box inscription is by the 7th generation of the Yabunouchi family, Chikuo Jochi. TA