A Red Raku Chawan named Yama no Gotoshi by the chief Abbot of Kenninji Temple Takeda Ekishu enclosed in the original signed wooden box which is in turn enclosed in an outer protective box. It bears the artists Ka-o signature engraved into the clay beneath near the foot ring. The bowl is 13 cm (over 5 inches) diameter, 7 cm (just under 3 inches) tall and is in excellent condition.
Takeda Ekishu (1896-1989) was born in Oita prefecture. He studied under Takeda Mokurai and Takeda Eisen, then rose through the ranks to become superintendent of Kenninji Temple in downtown Kyoto. He was born in Oita prefecture, and In 1902 he was adopted by the Yano family, headed by Yano Yōhei. In 1904 when the head of his adoptive family was conscripted for service in the Russo-Japanese War, he left the Yano household. The following year, at the age of 9, he briefly became a novice monk at Chitose-ji, but left after only a few months. During his third year of elementary school, he stayed for 5–6 days at Shoon-ji, a nearby Zen temple. This experience planted the seeds for his monastic aspirations. At his mother's request, the abbot Emon of Shoon-ji took him under his care, and on February 16, 1906, he entered Shorai-ji, a temple of the Daitoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen located in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. The following year, in 1907, he underwent tonsure under the guidance of Otomo Sotada at the age of 11, thus beginning a rigorous Zen monastic life. In May 1911, he enrolled in a monastic school located within the precincts of Daitoku-ji, and spent four years living in its dormitory. Among his classmates were Kajiura Itsugai (later chief abbot of the Myoshin-ji) and Hayashi Ekyō (later chief abbot of the Tofuku-ji). In 1915 he entered Kennin Monastery to continue his training under Takeda Mokurai. Takeda Eisen assumed the reins at Kenninji in 1928, and Ekishu moved to study under him. In 1933 he completing the reconstruction of Zuisho-ji, and in November of the same year, he received certification (inka) from Koto-an Takeda Eisen, under whom he had been training. Subsequently, he held various significant positions, including professor at the Zen Higher Academy, abbot of Daisen-in in the Daitoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen, and administrative head of Daitoku-ji. Following the death of Takeda Eisen on September 9, 1945, he was appointed master of Kennin Monastery. On May 10, 1980 (Showa 55), he passed on his role as master of Kennin Monastery to his Dharma heir, Minato Sodō, dedicating himself fully to his responsibilities as chief abbot. In 1981 he visited China as the leader of the "Second Representative Delegation to China" dispatched by the Japan-China Zen Friendship Association.
To celebrate his 88th birthday a service was held at the Kennin-ji abbot's quarters, during which his art collection, Takeda Ekishu Gachō: Rakusō Yoji ("Idle Musings of the Fallen Grass"), was published in commemoration.
