A HIGH BAR

I have had a fairly long time to think, to reflect on what it is that really interests me regarding teabowls and after all this time one factor that keeps popping up is the posture or attitude of the piece. Perhaps the chawan that best defines my interests is the famous MINE (NO) MOMIJI a product of the Mutabora-gama during the Momoyama era at home in the Gotoh Museum. To my eye, this chawan can be mainly distilled to posture, the way it rests on its kodai and lifts to the main part of the bowl that is like a form moving gently in the wind, animated by the masterful way the potter manipulated the clay and formed a wonky narrative that through the devices decorating the surface and the glaze texture bring this bowl to life. The Mine (no) Momiji chawan has an unconscious character that stems from form's posture all coalesced through the act of throwing clay and firing it centuries ago.    

As I have mentioned before in my blog is that from my perspective, there is no finer chawan than the Mine (no) Momiji but it is from this chawan that I see quite a disparate array of bowls that have attributes that are rooted back to this  Momoyama archetype. As is probably easy to see, this wonderful, even playful Kakurezaki Ryuichi Bizen chawan owes a bit to its 16th century predecessor in the posture and animation of the form set atop an unusual but purposeful kodai. Defined by dramatic lift, this undulating form has a  distinct sense of balance despite the visual turbulence that it portrays. Complete with an excellent Bizen firing which has created a number of variations that help define the lines of the bowl includes a broad, shimmering coating of ash in the bowls interior that appears just like a minimalist's abstract painting. The more I look at this Bizen chawan the more I can spot little hints that harkens back to feudal archetypes including the organic nature of the piece and the lack of any overt contrived manipulation which are probably the qualities that best describe the Mine (no) Momiji  and that certainly is a high bar to achieve.