Hagi Ware Zodiac Tea Bowl (Eto Chawan), Year of the Rooster — Hand-Painted Rooster with Gold Accents, Wooden Box

This Hagi-ware (Hagi-yaki, 萩焼) matcha bowl is an eto chawan (干支茶碗) for the Year of the Rooster (酉, tori). A single rooster is painted on the side. It has a glossy black body, a vivid red comb and wattles, and fine gold lines tracing the sweep of its tail and neck feathers. The bird stands mid-stride with one foot raised, head turned back, and the loose, textured brushwork gives the plumage a feathery softness against the bare-looking clay ground.

Hagi ware comes from Yamaguchi Prefecture and has been prized in the tea world since the early 17th century. A well-known saying ranks it among the most admired tea bowls: "Ichi Raku, ni Hagi, san Karatsu" (first Raku, second Hagi, third Karatsu). Hagi is best known for its soft, porous clay and gentle colouring, and it is usually left undecorated. A painted zodiac motif like this one is less common.

The clay has fired to Hagi's characteristic pale pinkish-orange, with small white grains of feldspar scattered through the body. A thin, translucent glaze lets the clay colour and throwing rings show through, pooling to a warmer blush in the well. Hagi collectors value the way its porous body and fine crackle gradually absorb tea over years of use, slowly deepening the colour of the bowl. This is known as Hagi no nana-bake, "the seven changes of Hagi."

The bowl has a tall, near-cylindrical hantsutsu (半筒) form with gently rounded lower walls. This shape holds warmth well and is traditionally favoured in the colder months, which suits a New Year bowl. The low foot ring is left unglazed, and an impressed potter's seal sits on the lower wall. The bowl comes in an old wooden box with a cord, still wrapped in vintage Japanese newspaper.

Details:

• Origin: Hagi ware (Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan)

• Type: Eto chawan (zodiac tea bowl), Year of the Rooster (酉)

• Maker: Impressed potter's seal (unread)

• Form: Tall hantsutsu (semi-cylindrical) matcha bowl

• Glaze: Thin translucent glaze over pale pinkish-orange Hagi clay with feldspar inclusions

• Decoration: Hand-painted rooster in black, red and gold

• Base: Unglazed foot ring

• Box: Old wooden box with cord and vintage newspaper wrapping

• Condition: Good vintage/secondhand condition. White grains, small glaze skips and pinholes are natural features of Hagi clay. Please see photos for any wear.

• Dimensions: (D) approx. 11 cm x (H) approx. 8.8 cm