Raku-The Origins
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Raku teabowls first made in Kyoto, Japan, were certainly not representative of the majority of Kyoto ceramics made in the sixteenth century. They should also not be seen in complete isolation from other contemporary art and craft forms. To gain insight Western attitudes must be put aside and the objects looked at more closely. The social and philosophical background out of which raku sprang, and the origins of the Japanese tea ceremony (Cha no yu) itself must be examined.

Japan has often looked to China for inspiration and influence in artistic and philosophical matters. Tea drinking in Japan is thought to have arrived with Zen Buddhist monks from China in the twelfth century. Tea was originally drunk on ceremonial and religious occasions, or used as medicine. The practice then spread during the next two centuries to a wider section of the population.
Japan was controlled during the fifteenth century by a military aristocracy, who combined their talents with those of artists and writers, laying down rules for tea meetings, and including tea utensils in the lists of art treasures. This was an important act because it established connoisseurship and care of such articles, and it also enhanced the cultural standing of the owners.
The fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries were a time of great social and political upset. The old aristocratic shoguns who had ruled since the twelfth century were gradually overthrown by a new military group of non-aristocratic birth, who now assumed power. This new force, with the help of increasingly successful and wealthy merchants, brought the tea ceremony to the point where it had a positive identity of its own, with specific rules and procedures.

Sen no Rikyu (1552-1591) was a man of great artistic judgement, and one who, as a tea master, gained influence over Hideyoshi (1536-1598), one of the three great generals of the period who gradually unified the country. Under Rikyu's influence, each element of the ceremony was carefully distilled, with the purpose of creating a situation and atmosphere where spiritual self-development could take place. His extremely disciplined version of the tea ceremony was designed to appeal to all the senses, and, through a quiet focusing of the mind, to achieve an ego-less state. This state of being was not concerned with intellectually 'knowing' about an object, but of literally fusing with it, of 'being' the object.
The teabowl, the preparation and handling of tea implements, the quiet filtered light and simplicity of the tearoom, its scents and objects, even the movements of the people participating, were essential in his form of ceremony. In this context the teabowl exists naturally and harmoniously.