Raku Kichizaemon XVI (b.1981), Black Raku tea bowl, Sōkichi Period (2012). Copyright © Raku Museum

Each successive generation assumes the name ‘Sōkichi’, before succeeding to the name Kichizaemon.

Each begins by making red tea bowls, and after several years, they are permitted to place just a single black tea bowl in the kiln.

This tea bowl is one from the current head’s period as Sōkichi.

Special Exhibition: Raku Successive Generations — Raku Tea Bowls Crossing Time, Saturday 25 April – Wednesday 26 August 2026.