A 16th century black Raku-style chawan, used for thick tea (Tokyo National Museum)

A chawan (茶碗) is a bowl used for preparing and drinking matcha (powdered green tea) in Japanese tea ceremonies. In Japan, "chawan" also refers to bowls for drinking regular green tea, as well as to bowls for rice. If it is necessary to distinguish between them, bowls for tea are called yunomi chawan, and bowls for rice are called gohan chawan. In tea ceremony, the word chawan is normally prefixed with the honorific o-. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (660x707, 102 KB) Black Raku Tea Bowl, Kuroraku type, Raku Ware, Known as Amadera, Studio of Chojiro, Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century (Gift of Mr. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (660x707, 102 KB) Black Raku Tea Bowl, Kuroraku type, Raku Ware, Known as Amadera, Studio of Chojiro, Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century (Gift of Mr. ... The Azuchi-Momoyama period (Japanese: 安土桃山時代, Azuchi-Momoyama-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1568 to 1600. ... Rakuyaki (樂焼き) or Raku (樂) is a form of Japanese pottery characterized by low firing temperatures (resulting in a fairly porous clay body), lead glazes, and the removal of pieces from the kiln while still glowing hot. ... The Tokyo National Museum. ... Look up Bowl in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Matcha (抹茶 in Japanese), often spelled maccha, is the powdered green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony. ... Green tea (绿茶) is tea that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. ... A woman wearing a kimono performs a tea ceremony outdoors, while seated in seiza position. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Rice refers to two species (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) of grass, native to tropical and subtropical southern & southeastern Asia and to Africa, which together provide more than one fifth of the calories consumed by humans[1]. (The term wild rice can refer to wild... In linguistics, a prefix is a type of affix that precedes the morphemes to which it can attach. ... An honorific is a term used to convey esteem or respect. ...

Different styles, shapes, and colours of chawan are used in different ceremonies.

History

The first chawan came from China and Korea along with green tea during the Nara and Heian periods. Korea (Korean: (조선 or 한국, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... The Nara period ) of the history of Japan covers the years from about AD 710 to 794. ... The Heian period (Japanese: 平安時代, Heian-jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. ...

Styles and classification

Two modern "thin tea" bowls.

In tea ceremony, chawan are classified according to their place of origin or manufacture, colour, shape, materials and other characteristics. More than one classification may apply to a given bowl. Two typical usuicha (thin tea) bowls for the Japanese tea ceremony. ... Two typical usuicha (thin tea) bowls for the Japanese tea ceremony. ...

Most chawan are bowl-shaped, but shapes vary widely. There are names for each general shape, within which there may be many variations. Common shapes include cylindrical, flat and round. Deep bowls are called tsutsu-jawan, while shallow bowls are called hira-jawan.

Chawan are also classified according to the type of tea that will be served in them. Bowls for regular green tea are known as senchawan, while bowls for matcha are matchawan. Within the general category of matchawan, there are bowls for thin tea (usuchawan) and thick tea (koichawan).

Karamono

Karamono (唐物) refers generally to styles of chawan that originated in China. These bowls were designed for drinking tea. Note that in all cases, the names are Japanese.

• Tenmoku (天目)
  • Haikatsugi
  • Yohen
  • Kensan
  • Yuteki
  • Taihisan
• Seiji (青磁, celadon-ware)
• Hakuji (白磁, white porcelain)
• Sometsuki (blue and white porcelain)

Kōraimono

Japanese green tea in a modern senchawan bowl.

Kōraimono (高麗物) refers generally to styles of chawan that originated in Korea. Korean chawan were originally rice bowls that were adapted for tea when they entered Japan, much like Chinese oil bottles became tea caddies. Korean bowls were a favourite of Sen no Rikyu because of their rough simplicity.^[1] Japanese Green Tea photography person : MASA photography day : February, 2005 photography place : home of MASA File links The following pages link to this file: Green tea Categories: GFDL images ... Japanese Green Tea photography person : MASA photography day : February, 2005 photography place : home of MASA File links The following pages link to this file: Green tea Categories: GFDL images ... A typical lacquerware natsume (a chaki made of wood). ...

• Iji
• Mishima
• Kaki-no-heta
• Kinsan
• Ido
• Gōki
• Goshō Maru
• Totoya
• Katade Komogai
• Kohiki
• Amamori
• Hagame
• Sōhaku
• Gohon
• Tamagote
• Sōba
• Unkaku
• Wari-kodai
• Iraho

Wamono

A woman pours hot water into a tall, narrow chawan

Wamono (和物) can refer to anything that is traditionally Japanese, or made in Japan. In the case of chawan, it refers to styles that were developed in Japan.

Wamono chawan can be further divided by location and by kiln:

Provincial

• Karatsu
• Asahi
• Oku-gorai
• Iga
• Hagi
• Seto (瀬戸)
• Setoguro (瀬戸黒)
• Izumo
• Shigaraki
• Oribe (織部)
• Shonzui
• Genpin
• Shino (志野)
• Satsuma

Raku (kiln)

Raku is also known as raku-yaki (楽焼). Rakuyaki (樂焼き) or Raku (樂) is a form of Japanese pottery characterized by low firing temperatures (resulting in a fairly porous clay body), lead glazes, and the removal of pieces from the kiln while still glowing hot. ...

• Chojiro I
• Kōetsu
• Nonko

References

1. ^ Sadler, A.L. Cha-No-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony. Tokyo: Tuttle, 1962, 67.

See also

• List of Japanese tea ceremony utensils
• JNT, Joy of the Noble Teacup: International Chawan Exhibition