| Chawan | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 茶碗 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | tea bowl | ||||||||||||||
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| Alternate Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 茶盞 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 茶盏 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | tea cup | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | trà oản | ||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 茶碗 | ||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 찻사발; 다완 | ||||||||||||||
| Hanja | (none); 茶碗 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | tea bowl | ||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 茶碗 | ||||||||||||||
| Kana | ちゃわん | ||||||||||||||
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Achawan (茶碗; literally "tea bowl") is abowl used for preparing and drinkingtea. Many types ofchawan are used inEast Asiantea ceremonies.
Thechawan originated in China. The earliestchawan inJapan were imported from China between the 13th and the 16th centuries.[1]
TheJian chawan, a Chinese tea bowl known asTenmoku chawan in Japan, was the preferred tea bowl for the Japanese tea ceremony until the 16th century.[2] In Japan, tea was also mainly drunk from this Chinese variety of tea bowls until about the 15th century.[3] The Japanese termtenmoku is derived from the name of theTianmu Mountain, where Japanese priests acquired these tea bowls from Chinese temples to bring back to Japan, according to tradition.[4]
An 11th-century resident ofFujian wrote about theJian tea wares:
Tea is of light colour and looks best in black cups. The cups made atJianyang are bluish-black in colour, marked like the fur of a hare. Being of rather thick fabric, they retain the heat, so that when once warmed through, they cool very slowly, and they are additionally valued on this account. None of the cups produced at other places can rival these.Blue and white cups are not used by those who give tea-tasting parties.[5]
By the end of theKamakura period (1185–1333), as the custom of tea drinking spread throughout Japan and theTenmoku chawan became desired by all ranks of society, the Japanese began to make their own copies inSeto (in present-dayAichi Prefecture).[6] Although theTenmoku chawan was derived from the original Chinese that came in various colors, shapes, and designs, the Japanese particularly liked the bowls with a tapered shape, so most Seto-madeTenmoku chawan had this shape.[6]
With the rise of thewabi tea ceremony in the lateMuromachi period (1336–1573), theIdo chawan, which originated from aMet-Saabal or a large bowl used for rice in Korea, also became highly prized in Japan.[7]These Korean-influenced bowls were favored by the tea masterSen no Rikyū because of their rough simplicity.[8]
Over time and with the development of the Japanese tea ceremony as a distinct form, localJapanese pottery and porcelain became more highly priced and developed. Around the Edo period, thechawan was often made in Japan. The most esteemed pieces for a tea ceremonychawan areraku ware,Hagi ware, andKaratsu ware. A saying in the tea ceremony schools for the preferred types ofchawan relates: "Raku first, Hagi second, Karatsu third."[9]
Anotherchawan type that became slightly popular during the Edo period from abroad was theAnnan ware from Vietnam (Annam), which were originally used there as rice bowls. Annan ware is blue and white, with a high foot.
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A cloth calledchakin (茶巾) is used to wipe the bowl clean.
Normally the bowl would be wrapped in an orangeturmeric-coloured cloth calledukon-nuno (ウコン布) for storage in the box, which apparently helps ward insects away.
A cloth bagshifuku (仕服) made out of silk or brocade can be used for storage of special tea bowls, especially fortenmoku chawan types. This is supported by four smaller cushions on each side inside the wooden box to help stabilise and protect the bowl. A more simpler cloth baggomotsu-bukuro (御物袋) can also be used instead.
Japanesechawan have various shapes and types, many of which have specific names:[10]
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The foot (高台Kōdai) of the Japanesechawan can be in various different shapes and sizes. The most known are:[26]
Media related toChawan at Wikimedia Commons
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