Tanaka Chōjirō

Place: Kyoto

Born: 1516

Biography:

Chōjirō (1516-?1592) is the first generation of Raku family line of potters. He was born in Kyoto and was the son of Ameya who emigrated from Korea or Ming China. Chōjirō produced ridge tiles for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Jurakudai palace in 1574. In 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi presented him with a seal inscribed with the character 楽, raku, and with this 'Raku' was adopted as the family name. He worked at one time for Sen no Rikyū, the master of tea, at whose request he created teabowls to be used in chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony. Extant records of the use, at the time, of the tea bowls that he produced for Rikyū describe them as 'tea bowls of the Sōeki form', Sōeki being the name that Rikyū was then generally known by. The bowls attracted attention for their beauty and refinement. Chōjirō produced bowls that were either entirely red or entirely black glazed soft pottery, simple and without decoration, which were meant to reflect wabi ideals.