Strictly
speaking, Shino is a rather simple glaze. Composed of mostly feldspar and ash
in Japan and of nepheline syenite and spodumene in the West; the bulk of the
formulas are just a small handful of materials. It would seem that the
proportions of the materials and those "secret ingredients" makes all
the difference from glaze to glaze and potter to potter. Secret ingredients
aside, there are other such variables like type of clay body, quality of slip
or washes and of course how the pots are fired, wood fired being among the
finest, that can really make a Shino glaze stand out. I guess in the end, there
is no such thing as simple Shino.
Simple
glaze plus simple chawan equals, masterpiece. Illustrated is a wonderful
Aka-Shino chawan by the father of modern Shino, Arakawa Toyozo. Using a fine
traditional mogusa clay, this chawan was wood fired to produce a bowl reminiscent
of some of those Momoyama masterpieces.
.JPG)