Though
Kato Hajime (1900-1968) was a Ningen Kokuho for his brilliant Iro-e work, there
was very little in the way of both traditional and non-traditional ceramics
that he didn't attempt and master. Kato turned his hand to a wide array of
pottery making which included works in Karatsu, Bizen, Shino, Oribe, Shigaraki,
Kohiki, Kinsai, Seiji/ Seihakuji, Jun and on and on, and in each style his
genius shown through. Illustrated is what appears to be a simple Shino chawan
but having handled it I can attest it is much more than that, the bowl is
alive, it has a rhythm and posture that animates the bowl while keeping it
firmly within the functional realm of chanoyu. The surface creates a wandering
landscape narrative that forces the eye to dart here and there to drink in the
entirety of form and the varieties in color has a wonderful blend of the subtle
and vivid, with further study in hand, it is clear this is no ordinary chawan,
dare I say museum quality? As you can see this Shino chawan was illustrated
in a catalogue (1974) for a museum show showcasing
the works of Kato Hajime which traveled through Japan and of the 166 pieces,
this chawan was the only Shino piece exhibited. Though I truly believe the use
of museum quality is well over used, in just some cases, perhaps this one among
very few, the description might just fit the pot, at any rate, it was a very
pleasing bowl to handle and study. The vivid feldspar landscape that circles
the bowl will be very hard to forget despite that fact I took a lot of
pictures of this chawan and will put together a slideshow video at some point
in the future.
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