A chawan (茶碗; literally "tea bowl" "tea cup") is a bowl used for preparing and drinking tea. Many types of chawan are used in East Asian tea ceremonies.
The chawan originated in China. The earliest chawan in Japan were imported from China between the 13th and the 16th centuries.
The Jian chawan, a Chinese tea bowl known as Tenmoku chawan in Japan, was the preferred tea bowl for the Japanese tea ceremony until the 16th century. In Japan, tea was also mainly drunk from this Chinese variety of tea bowls until about the 15th century. The Japanese term tenmoku is derived from the name of the Tianmu Mountain, where Japanese priests acquired these tea bowls from Chinese temples to bring back to Japan, according to tradition.
An 11th-century resident of Fujian wrote about the Jian tea wares:
Tea is of light colour and looks best in black cups. The cups made at Jianyang 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.
A Tenmoku chawan, also known as Jianzhan, Jian ware, or Jian tea bowl & cup, is renowned for its deep, conical shape and distinctive glazes such as "oil spot" (yuteki) and "hare's fur" (nogime). Prized for the striking contrast its dark surface creates with the vibrant green froth of matcha, it holds significant prestige in the Japanese tea ceremony. Imported from China by monks during the Song Dynasty, these bowls became highly revered in Japan, leading to local production and artistic focus on their unique glaze effects, with each piece offering unique visual appeal.
- Origin: First produced as Jian ware in China during the Song Dynasty, brought to Japan by Zen monks.
- Name Origin: Named after Tianmu Mountain in China, where monks first used them.
- Shape: Typically deep and conical, often with a flare at the lip and a small foot (kodai).
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Glaze: High-iron, dark glazes creating metallic patterns:
- Yuteki (油滴): "Oil-spot," appearing as metallic spots.
- Nogime (禾目): "Hare's fur," showing streaks of blue or red.
- Significance: Highly prized in Japanese tea ceremonies for their aesthetic contrast with whisked matcha.
- Used specifically for preparing and drinking matcha.
- Hand-wash gently with water; do not use dishwashers or microwaves.
