Raku bowl master at Asukagama, Takumi Nakashima Japanese chawan in the traditional red and black by Shoraku Sasaki This bowl received an award from the monk Kankei Moriyama.(1888-1955) and was named 'Yume' - which means a dream. ( RubyLane ) Origins of Raku The originator of raku in Japan was Sasaki Chojiro, who first produced raku pieces for the Japanese tea ceremony in the 16th century. He learnt the technique from his father Ameya, who was trained in the Ming Dynasty Sencai pottery tradition and was brought to Kyoto, Japan from China. The original chawan