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When I think about Bizen, there is modern Bizen
and there is what is known as Ko-Bizen, which means, simply, "old
Bizen". Though you can look at the term Ko-Bizen on face value, I tend to
look at it as a tradition that set the standards, style, techniques, firing and
quality for Bizen rather than just referring to pre-modern pottery. Pots today
are definitely made in the Ko-Bizen tradition though they are modern pots, in
essence they build on all that was old to continue that unbroken thread to the
present day. For Kitaoji Rosanjin that was a great part of his pursuit of
pottery, especially in his Bizen, Shigaraki, Iga, Oribe and Shino works. He
would study the great works of times past to understand the nature, intent and
spirit of those pieces and do all in his power to instill the same in his own
work though allowing his voice to the surface of the pot. The illustrated Bizen
chawan is certainly one of those works that straddles the temporal fence
between the past and the present (at the time it was made). This streamlined, purposeful
bowl creates a powerful posture and is
wonderfully colored with rich purple to brown fire color and a face and lip
painted with ash, adding to the landscape of the pot. What Rosanjin managed to
create is a chawan that absolutely speaks to the past while maintaining its
place as a 20th century pot.
"That is why I turn to the works of the
ancient masters and seek to read their hearts. Nothing makes me happier than to
discover, little by little, that I can read the heart of some ancient potter -
for I too want my work to be a reflection of the heart. When I succeed in
creating a piece straight from the heart, I can't help slapping my knee and
thinking "This is how it was for the ancients!" *
(* A quote from THE ART OF ROSANJIN by Cardozo and Hirano)
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