Chawan are hand built bowls, which are used in the highly cultivated traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The rituals of the ceremony are hundreds of years old and follow given rules. The tea ceremony is a ritual gathering, which extends over several hours. The principles of harmony, respect, purity and calmness are primary values. Guests are expected to admire the beauty and uniqueness of the chawan.
A chawan is manufactured in long hours of work by hand, and is glazed by hand, based on traditional Japanese models. Most of these bowls are fired in the raku-technique or in a tunnel-kiln, which is wood fired for days on end. So every single chawan is unique.
The tea ceremony is cultivated not only as contemplation, but also as an art. Thereby the irregularity, imperfectness of the chawan is an important characteristic.
“The less perfect it appears, the more honest an object it is” (Arhoj)