A Tea Bowl Named for Mount Fuji
A single tea bowl, no taller than a coffee mug at 8.5 centimeters, accounts for much of the renown of the Sunritz Hattori Museum of Art on the shore of Lake Suwa. Its upper half is a soft, milky white; its lower half darkens to a smoky charcoal grey. Seen together, the two zones suggest a snow-capped mountain rising out of shadow, and the potter who made it gave it the name Fujisan, after Japan's most famous peak.
The maker was Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637), one of the most versatile figures of early Edo-period Japan. His family earned its living appraising, polishing, and cleaning swords, but Kōetsu built his reputation elsewhere: in calligraphy, where he was ranked among the three finest brushes of his age; in lacquer design; and, with the painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu, as a founder of the decorative Rinpa school. Pottery came late to him. He is thought to have taken it up only after 1615, when Tokugawa Ieyasu granted him land at Takagamine, northwest of Kyoto, where he gathered craftsmen and artists around him.
Fujisan is a Raku bowl. Raku ware is shaped entirely by hand rather than thrown on a wheel, then fired at a relatively low temperature, a method that grew up in Kyoto under the tea master Sen no Rikyū. The professional Raku lineage made bowls as a family trade. Kōetsu did not. He worked as an inspired amateur, and that freedom shows in the slightly irregular, sculpted forms he favored.
Why It Became a National Treasure
Japan designated the bowl an Important Cultural Property on 29 March 1952 and raised it to National Treasure status the same year, on 22 November. The name Fujisan carries two meanings at once. Written with characters that read "not two," it points to a bowl that cannot be duplicated. The two-tone effect, called katamigawari, came about by chance inside the kiln, where the lower body carbonized to dark grey while the upper body kept its white glaze. No second bowl could be made to match it, and Kōetsu is said to have chosen the name himself.
One detail sets Fujisan apart from every other surviving Kōetsu bowl. The lid of its inner storage box carries an inscription in Kōetsu's own hand, reading "Fujisan, Daikyoan," followed by his seal. Daikyoan was one of the art names he used. Among the tea bowls attributed to him, this is the only one that comes with a box he signed himself, and he is regarded as the first potter in Japan to inscribe his own boxes. Both the box lid and a piece of sleeve fabric connected to the bowl are listed as attached properties under the same National Treasure designation.
Tea connoisseurs placed Fujisan at the head of every traditional grouping of Kōetsu's best work, the selections known as his five, seven, and ten masterpieces. Many writers on Japanese ceramics rank it the single finest tea bowl of native rather than imported manufacture.
What to Look For
The bowl is a short cylinder, its walls cut nearly straight. Its rim is not level. Kōetsu shaved it into an uneven line that Japanese potters call yamamichi, or "mountain path," so the lip rises and falls like a low ridge. Run your eye around it and the height shifts subtly from one point to the next.
The glaze is thick and clouded rather than glassy. Where it thins toward the foot, the dark carbonized clay shows through, and the boundary between white and grey wanders unevenly around the body. The base is flat, finished with a low, broad foot ring carved by hand. None of this is symmetrical, and that is the point. The bowl rewards slow looking, turned in the hands the way a guest would turn it at a tea gathering.
Fujisan answers to a second name, Furisode, meaning "long-sleeved kimono." When Kōetsu's daughter married, she is said to have carried the bowl to her new home wrapped in a remnant of long-sleeved kimono cloth. A surviving piece of that fabric, embroidered in gold thread, is preserved alongside the bowl.
One practical point matters more than any other. Fujisan is not on permanent display. The museum shows it only on selected occasions, often around once a year, so anyone making the trip specifically to see it should confirm the current exhibition before setting out.
Visiting and the Surrounding Area
The Sunritz Hattori Museum of Art sits on the eastern shore of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture, about a 15-minute walk from JR Kami-Suwa Station. Its collection was built by the Hattori family, associated with the Seiko watch company, and the museum opened in 1995. Alongside the Kōetsu bowl it holds a black Raku bowl by Chōjirō, the founder of the Raku tradition, an Important Cultural Property portrait from the Satake album of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, and European paintings including works by Renoir.
A second-floor café looks out over the lake, a good place to pause after the galleries. The Kitazawa Museum of Art, known for its Émile Gallé glass, stands next door, and the lakeshore around it, with its geyser center and hot springs, makes Suwa a comfortable day trip from the Chūō Expressway or the limited express line out of Tokyo.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Nagano
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Raku Ware White Half Body Change Tea Bowl (signed Fujiyama,
- [ Matsumoto Castle & Kamikochi Hiking Tours ]
Q&A
- Why is the bowl called Fujisan?
- Its white upper body and dark lower body suggest a snow-capped Mount Fuji. The name is also written with characters meaning "not two," because the chance coloring of the bowl could never be repeated.
- Can I see the bowl whenever I visit?
- No. It is not part of the permanent display and appears only at selected exhibitions, often roughly once a year. Check the museum's current schedule before you go.
- What makes it different from other Kōetsu bowls?
- It is the only surviving Kōetsu tea bowl whose storage box he inscribed and sealed himself, which is why it is treated as the foremost of his works.
- Who was Hon'ami Kōetsu?
- An early Edo-period artist from a sword-appraising family, celebrated for calligraphy and lacquer and counted among the founders of the Rinpa school. He made pottery as a gifted amateur rather than a professional potter.
- How do I get to the museum?
- It is about 15 minutes on foot from JR Kami-Suwa Station, or roughly 15 minutes by car from the Suwa interchange on the Chūō Expressway.
Basic Information
| Official name | Raku ware white katamigawari (partial color-change) tea bowl, named Fujisan, by Kōetsu |
|---|---|
| Location | Sunritz Hattori Museum of Art, 2-1-1 Kogandori, Suwa City, Nagano 392-0027 |
| Designation | National Treasure (craft); Important Cultural Property on 29 March 1952, National Treasure on 22 November 1952 |
| Count | 1 bowl |
| Dimensions | Height 8.5 cm, mouth diameter 11.5 cm |
| Maker / Period | Hon'ami Kōetsu; early Edo period |
| Owner | Sunritz Hattori Museum of Art |
| Attached properties | Box lid (1) and sleeve fabric (1) |
| Viewing | Not on permanent display; shown at selected exhibitions only |
| Hours | 9:30–16:30; closed Mondays (except public holidays), year-end and New Year, and exhibition changeover periods |
| Admission | Adults 1,100 yen; elementary and junior high students 400 yen (special exhibitions may differ) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Raku ware white katamigawari tea bowl, named Fujisan, by Kōetsu
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/362
- Sunritz Hattori Museum of Art, official website
- https://sunritz-hattori-museum.or.jp/
- Sunritz Hattori Museum of Art, visitor information
- https://sunritz-hattori-museum.or.jp/pages/28/
Last verified: 2026.06.09