This red Raku chawan, bearing the poetic name Hōchō (萌兆, “Sign of Budding”), is attributed to Raku Chōnyū, the 7th-generation head of the Raku family and a pivotal figure in mid-Edo period ceramic history. The bowl’s robust and rounded form is sculpted in the hand-built tezukune method, with a gentle inward taper and subtly undulating rim that lend it both visual and tactile warmth. The surface is finished in a lustrous, deeply crackled red glaze (aka-raku) characteristic of Chōnyū’s style, with rich orange-red tones melting into soft white suffusions and traces of gray from reduction firing—features typical of his best-known works. The overall impression is one of serenity and quiet vitality, evoking early spring growth, and thus aptly named.