In looking at this E-Shino chawan and
drawing rendered on the interior of the storage box lid I think it is easy to
see the influence of Arakawa Toyozo in both clay and ink. This chawan was made
by long time Arakawa apprentice and Mino specialist, Nakayama Naoki and his
blend of his master, Momoyama archetypes and his inner voice are clearly on
display with the ink rendering also paying homage to his versatile teacher. The
form shows off generous and sturdy proportions which are perfect for the
intended function of the bowl while the simple blushed white Shino and direct
underglaze iron decoration create a mental picture that most viewers can embrace
and understand. Though a simple bowl in design and execution, I have always
maintained that there is a deep complexity to simplicity and the simpler the
appearance the more difficult the creation where things easily go wrong and are
glaringly obvious in their lack of continuity and balance, that is just not the
case here. As I study this bowl it is "just so", you can second guess
all of the potter's decisions but in the end, everything is just as it should
be in both the clay and ink of this classic chawan.
"The art of simplicity is a puzzle
of complexity." Douglas Horton
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