I was asked to evaluate a chawan (Japanese teabowl for matcha) by a friend on the TeaChat forum recently. In my reply, I explained why I personally would be reluctant to buy it. My friend asked if I would be willing to share my comments with others. I didn’t want to single out a particular potter’s chawan as a “bad example” (plus, I’m hardly infallible in these matters). Instead, I’ve rewritten my comments as this generic checklist, which may be handy for anyone who is thinking about purchasing a chawan.
If there are any senior Chadou practitioners out there who would like to correct or expand on any of these points, I welcome your feedback.
1 – Is the surface of the bowl (especially the interior) smooth or rough?
Most people who want teabowls for matcha – and all practitioners of Japanese tea ceremony (a.k.a. Chadou, the Way of Tea) – should give preference to bowls whose interior surfaces are smooth. Some bowls can be very rough in texture; for example, Shigaraki wares are frequently somewhat pebbly. If there are bumps on the interior, they can cause problems when whisking the matcha – especially if they are convex (“outies”) and not concave (“innies”).
I have a friend who has never used the visually stunning Shigaraki bowl that she purchased for a huge sum; once she got it home, she was chagrined to realize that the gritty texture on the interior would cut a bamboo whisk to shreds. However, if the surface of the chawan you’re considering has pits rather than bumps, and they’re not too deep, it may not be too much of an issue for you.
2 – Is the edge of the bowl smooth?
Similarly, the edge of the bowl should be smooth. In Chadou, a rough or irregular edge be an issue for two reasons.
First, you as host must be able to wipe the edge of the bowl smoothly with the chakin (small linen cloth) as part of the tea ceremony; with a rough edge, this can be next to impossible.
Secondly, you need to present the guest with a comfortable drinking surface, and it’s not generally pleasant to drink from a cup whose rim is jagged or coarse. If the chawan under consideration has any “jags” in the rim, or any other impediments to smoothness (pits, carbuncles, grooves), again I would have questions about that.
Still, if you’re simply making tea for yourself alone, these points may not be that relevant.
3 – Can the foot be gripped easily?
If you are buying a bowl via the Internet, this is something that you will have to judge from the photographs. Any seller of chawan-s who is familiar with Chadou knows that the foot is very important, and will provide at least one good photograph of the foot ring.
Why does this matter? The tea host needs to be able to pour the rinse water out of the bowl one-handedly, by placing the left thumb on the lip and the other fingers within the ring of the foot. A foot that is too shallow, or awkwardly made in some way, is to be avoided because there is a very real danger of dropping the bowl and damaging it.
Even if you are not interested in Chadou, there are two more considerations. Firstly, the foot should be being level and stable (you don’t want the bowl to rock while you’re whisking!). Secondly, the base of the foot should be smooth, since if it is roughened, it may scratch some surfaces on which it is placed such as lacquered shelves or serving trays. (In some cases, fortunately, it is possible to sand the foot, using sandpaper, and make the rough surface smoother.)
There are various types of foot (koudai in Japanese). Some of these can be seen in an article on e-yakimono.net called Kodai – What’s the Fuss about the Foot. There is one type, known as kabuto (helmet), in which the clay at the centre of the bowl’s base comes to a sharp little point. This point is shallower than the foot ring itself; in fact it’s mainly decorative. (I’ll try to post a photo at some point.) However, Sensei – my teacher – does not care for the kabuto style because, she says, tea practitioners with sensitive fingers may find it a little painful to hold (especially when pouring out the rinse water as host).
So… even the “approved” foot styles are not liked by everyone. It helps to see chawan-s in real life, and to hold them, to really understand what to look for!
4 – Are the dimensions of the bowl appropriate?
Chawan dimensions can vary, so the answer to this question is not always obvious. Typical bowls are between 4.5″ and 5″ in diameter at the rim, while the larger bowls (such as those made from raku) can be a little wider still. The height is typically between 3″ and 4″, but does not often go much beyond that. The reasons for these dimensions is so that that the whisk has enough room to “work” inside the bowl without actually splashing about too much.
In Chadou, the only time you get really wide bowls (over 5″) is in the hottest months of summer, when bowls known as natsujawan (summer bowls) or hirajawan (shallow bowls) make an appearance. With these, the idea is to actually allow the tea to cool a little bit, prior to the guest’s drinking it, by offering more surface area. These bowls are not only wide, but considerably more shallow, with a typical height of 2.5″. They are sometimes slightly V-shaped in appearance, too. It can be challenging to whisk matcha effectively in such a shallow bowl.
There are three other types of bowls that you may sometimes see:
- Tsutsu-jawan, or “tube [shaped] teabowl”. This is a narrower, taller chawan that is traditionally used only in the coldest month of winter – which is February by Japanese reckoning.
- The second type is called either ko-jawan (“small teabowl”) or nodate-jawan (“teabowl for outdoors”). This is a smaller bowl that is considered more portable; it may be carried either in a bag with smaller-than-average utensils (including a collapsible teascoop!), or packed away in a special chabako or “tea box”. (I own two nodate-jawan; they are, respectively, 3.75″-4″ in diameter and 2.5″-3″ in height.)
- Tenmoku-jawan (also transliterated as Temmoku). This is a V-shaped bowl with a very tiny foot. In traditional tea ceremony, this type of chawan is reserved for serving to “nobles”, and it requires a special stand called a dai. Unless you are studying Chadou, it’s unlikely that you will ever need one of these.
In the case of both tsutsu-jawan and nodate-jawan, a smaller-than-average tea whisk is required because a full-sized specimen will simply not fit into the chawan. It’s unlikely that you will come across many of these two chawan types, but it is good to recognize them when you do.
So when you are evaluating a teabowl, try to work out whether it is neutrally shaped (= can be used any time of year), it will hold in the heat (wintertime), or it will allow the tea to cool (summertime).
To be continued…
A Nezumi-Shino chawan made by a Japanese potter (and one that fulfils the traditional criteria):
Tea Mind 
17 May 2008 at 1:51 am
This is a great start for your new blog.
Although the technical points you make are not incorrect, in my opinion there is a point far more important; how does the chawan feel in actual use. I have found that actually using something can greatly change your view of it, regardless of the technical factors. That’s where the art of the craftsman comes into play.
In my limited tea experience, it seems that chawan made by potters with good taste AND familiarity with tea make the most enjoyable chawan to use, and although many of these are functional, they are not always technically “correct.”
My views are from someone who regularly enjoys matcha but who does not participate in the formal tea ceremony. This is probably the same situation as most of your readers, and is why many of the technical factors are of less importance to me.
17 May 2008 at 3:40 am
A superb post, chamekke, and it’s great to see you starting a blog. I will stay posted; your pieces on TeaChat are always excellent.
Brian
17 May 2008 at 6:23 am
Dear Britt,
Thank you for your comments. I agree, of course. Ultimately the test of any piece of pottery is whether it is pleasing to the user. (This point is addressed explicitly in Part 2, which I haven’t posted yet!)
I wrote this admittedly somewhat technical piece with two sets of people in mind. The first is the group you belong to – people whose main interest is in owning a teabowl so that they can make matcha at home. For these people, many of these points may be irrelevant, as has been noted. Basic functionality and pleasure in the bowl’s appearance are of paramount importance.
The second group consists of people who are involved in Chadou or who are thinking of studying it in the future, but want to buy bowls to use now, but with an eye to employing them in the tearoom in the future. Those people (especially if they are on a budget) have more particular requirements which are worth explaining in full.
There is nothing quite like the experience of proudly presenting a beloved chawan to your Sensei and having her point out its uselessness for practical purposes … especially so when the chawan is meant to be a gift for her! It’s a learning experience, of course (and I’m a big believer in learning through mistakes) – but sometimes a crushing one for the student.
22 January 2016 at 10:26 am
I really appreciate your post, as a new potter it is very helpful. Also as a new potter I would say, the harder the lesson the better it’s learned.
18 May 2008 at 10:51 am
Chamekke,
Is that a true story about the chawan gift for sensei? If so, you have much courage and are very thoughtful, regardless of whether she liked it or not. Maybe a different teacher would have felt differently, depending on their particular style or school. Anyway, if I ever enroll in a tea school I’ll remember to give the teacher something else for a gift!
18 May 2008 at 3:32 pm
The story about the chawan with the kabuto foot is true. Incidentally, my teacher didn’t say it was useless; but she did point out that the point on the base could be painful to those with sensitive fingers (which I suspect includes her!).
My impression was that Sensei had initially hesitated to say anything about her reaction, then realized that if she did not, I (and her other students) might proceed to give her other chawan-s with the same “kabuto” base in the future. So she decided to be up front with her reaction. Once I got over the initial surprise (and – I’ll admit it – dismay), I really appreciated that she felt she could trust me enough to be frank with me – rather than acting delighted, then hiding the chawan at the back of a cupboard. Possibly alongside other chawan-s with kabuto-style feet!
At any rate, I didn’t take it personally. It helped to know that at least the chawan did have a standard type of foot, and my teacher’s reaction was based on personal preference rather than being due to the chawan being truly inferior… like someone having an aversion to lilacs, or the colour orange.
13 December 2008 at 5:40 am
Chamakke, I am amazed and happy to find this reference. As a beginning potter, I can find lots of pictures of chawan’s and tea ware, but I cannot find enough specific information to make my work better and more accurate. I find this post to be very helpful. I would love to be able to refer to it from my site. Would you mind the link?
1 April 2009 at 8:22 pm
Hi,
I wonder if someone could help with the following: I am an absolute newcomer to the world of chawans. I bought a supposedly OHI Chawan with Ame-Yu glaze. When water or tea is poured into it, the bowl starts emitting a rather unpleasant earthy/muddy smell, which rather takes away the pleasure of enjoying my tea. The basic research I was able to do mentions no such issues. I tried soaking and rinsing several times in clean water, without any success. Anybody have any idea what the reason for this smell is and how to get rid of it ? Thank you,
2 May 2009 at 7:08 pm
chamekke. wonderful and insightful. from a ‘makers’ point of view the points you make are valid. through my process of chadou and viewing many different chadogu abroad and making chadogu, though there are preferences, there are also times where some very unusual and novel chadogu exist. some of of my favorite inspirations are kato toukuro, kakurezaki ryuichi and raku kichizaemon. for the folks reading this, the chadogu created by the above sensei/masters are so different. there are some matcha chawan from kakurezaki sensei that have an almost ‘innie’ style koudai, making the temae challenging at best. even raku kichizaemon’s kuchizukuri (rim area) amazing angles and carved portions challenge both the host and guest for functionality. so as there are guides and criteria for functionality, there is also functionality that is also artistic and unique. what do you think ? i’m humbled each day by the clay and fire, a life long process and student of clay. making chadogu that functions is a lifelong journey, a learning process with no end. humbling. one of my realizations is that i need many lifetimes to learn clay bodies, many lifetimes for keshiki and many lifetimes for learning firing processes. mahalo for your interesting blog.
13 July 2009 at 2:45 pm
Dang…so much analysis over something which is actually very simple. A little too much mystifying Japanese-ness. Check out Chinese bowls for the round foot ring. It’s common in all Chinese bowls and even most Japanese bowls. No big deal, really. Dang people…!
26 March 2010 at 1:31 pm
Thank you Chamakke for these posts.
Ko-shigaraki clay tea bowls can work if the pottery is fired to a high enough temperature. I have fired them up to three times to make sure the feldspar stones are smooth, as Chamakke recommends. The one at the link below, was thrown when the Earth was closest to Mars in 2003:
http://picasaweb.google.com/togeika/55TeaBowls#5332937287724402930
Here is another. A thin layer of glaze on the inside, put on with a hakame brush can help the interior be smooth:
http://picasaweb.google.com/togeika/55TeaBowls#5332937411953040658
30 November 2010 at 8:24 am
hello
As a maker of chawan and yunomi in england I have always made them from my own point of view however it has been a great help to get another persons viewpoint. I find your post to be very insightful andhelpful to keep in mind as I throw my pots.
thank you
22 July 2012 at 9:55 am
I really fail to understand the aversion to rough clay such as shigaraki. Fi you are applying so much pressure on the surface with the chasen tea whisk that you destroy it in one or even a few uses, even when the clay of the chawan is very rough, then frankly you are simply applying far too much pressure. Also chasen are not meant to last forever, in fact for formal tea gatherings new ones should always be used
23 June 2013 at 9:24 am
chamekke. posted in 2009 . my comments have yet to be approved…
23 June 2013 at 9:24 am
chamekke. wonderful and insightful. from a ‘makers’ point of view the points you make are valid. through my process of chadou and viewing many different chadogu abroad and making chadogu, though there are preferences, there are also times where some very unusual and novel chadogu exist. some of of my favorite inspirations are kato toukuro, kakurezaki ryuichi and raku kichizaemon. for the folks reading this, the chadogu created by the above sensei/masters are so different. there are some matcha chawan from kakurezaki sensei that have an almost ‘innie’ style koudai, making the temae challenging at best. even raku kichizaemon’s kuchizukuri (rim area) amazing angles and carved portions challenge both the host and guest for functionality. so as there are guides and criteria for functionality, there is also functionality that is also artistic and unique. what do you think ? i’m humbled each day by the clay and fire, a life long process and student of clay. making chadogu that functions is a lifelong journey, a learning process with no end. humbling. one of my realizations is that i need many lifetimes to learn clay bodies, many lifetimes for keshiki and many lifetimes for learning firing processes. mahalo for your interesting blog.
2 August 2016 at 5:04 pm
Thanks for the interesting information. However I feel the selected image is more of a rice bowl, than a matcha chawan, although it may be to many peoples choice. I think of a matcha chawan, while the same dimensions, it has a flatter bowl, and somewhat straight sides, sitting more squat.
7 August 2016 at 3:25 am
I really enjoyed this article and its second part too. Thank you for posting it. I’ve also quoted it in a recent blog post about chawan: http://www.matthewtyas.co.uk/2016/chawan-quick-start-guide
22 August 2016 at 11:50 am
Probably best not to give a tea bowl to a tea master. Something less conspicuous would be better. In Japan, After my pottery Sensei’s cremation ceremony, we happen to be riding in the charter bus, going back to my Sensei’s pottery and a Sempai (Elder Fellow Apprentice) and I found ourselves sitting next to my late teacher’s Tea Master. We asked him questions about tea bowls and he responded to us,
“Potters always want to talk about tea bowls. We should being by studying the mizusashi (water discard bowl), because it is an important item in tea ceremony that is often overlooked.”