Ido Tea Bowl (named Kizaemon)

The Representative Great Ido Tea Bowl

The Ido Tea Bowl (named Kizaemon) (井戸茶碗〈銘喜左衛門〉) is a Joseon-dynasty Ido tea bowl owned by Kohoan, a sub-temple of Daitokuji in Murasakino, Kita Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1951 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records an earlier designation under the old system in 1933. It is a single bowl owned by Kohoan.

The Agency records a height of 9.8 centimetres, a mouth of 15.4 centimetres and a foot of 5.3 centimetres.

Form and Glaze

According to the Agency, it rises in a slightly flaring shape, with a loquat-coloured glaze of feldspar and wood ash inside and out. There is shrivelled kairagi glaze around the foot, and lacquer repairs on part of the body. The well is deep and the base thin.

What to Look For

The Agency explains that Ido bowls, prized among Korean tea bowls since the Momoyama period, are divided into types such as meibutsu-de, ko-ido, ko-kannyu and ao-ido; the most esteemed are the meibutsu-de or great Ido bowls, of which Kizaemon is the representative example.

The Agency notes its dignified form and the fine kairagi glaze effects around the foot that are characteristic of Ido bowls.

Visiting the Ido Tea Bowl (named Kizaemon)

The bowl is owned by Kohoan and is not always shown; check the temple or exhibition announcements.