Vintage Japanese Tea Ceremony Ochakoboshi Kensui Oribe Sado Chado

This is a vintage Japanese ceramic bowl known as a ochakoboshi (waster water bowl) used in a Japanese sado/chado (tea ceremony). This vessel is in the Oribe style. A clean white clay glazed over in a light tone, in this case mustard yellow, with a spot of green glaze dripped on one edge. This style has many different patterns to go with the base and spot. In this case the glaze itself has separating dark spots.

During the tea ceremony the tea bowl is rinsed once to warm the bowl and another time to rinse it clean. The water used to rinse the tea bowl is drained into a Kensui such as this.