A Symphony of Chrysanthemums: Masterpieces by the Successive Generations of the Raku Family

The first bowl you meet is glossy black, with small white chrysanthemums raised from its surface. It is by Ichinyū, the fourth Raku head, and the restraint is the point: the director, Raku Jikinyū, told the Nikkei that Raku ware began by stripping out expression and rarely paints.

The 52 works fill three floors. The first lines up bowls generation by generation, ending on a red bowl Kichizaemon XVI made in 2026. The second widens out to chrysanthemum-shaped dishes, a Kenzan bowl and lacquered tea caddies; the third puts the founder Chōjirō beside Hon'ami Kōetsu and a Noh mask. The museum's case is that the family used the flower before the Edo-period craze.

It suits anyone curious how one family's taste shifts across sixteen generations. Entry is 1,200 yen with no booking, closed Mondays. On 29 November Jikinyū gives an online gallery talk, filming the feet, backs and seals the cases hide; on 13 December he hosts a tea gathering with the collection's bowls. Both need reservations.