FUSAJIRO

 

"There is no goodness superior to the goodness of nature", a quote by Kitaoji Rosanjin, yet despite his acceptance of this aphorism, he also understood as an artist and gourmand, creation was about capturing the distilled essence of nature into his creations. The illustrated Iga style bamboo form vase is exactly that, it is all about the essence of bamboo and it cuts out the extraneous details and captures the idea and form in as few movements and lines as possible. Coming to terms with the fact that it is not possible to exceed nature in the creativity game, Rosanjin created bamboo form vases that immediately call to mind what bamboo is to each and every viewer. The vase is not judged on how it mimics the plant but rather how it affects and touches the experiences of those who come in contact with the object and that is truly the mark of an accomplished potter.

KO-BIZEN

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)

CULMINATION

At first glance this small ko-tsubo or uzukumaru form may come from the waning days of Meiji period, the 1920s perhaps or the 50s, 70's or present day, but to those familiar with the work, this classical jar is the epitome of the 1950's, crafted in the hands of Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959). Owing its creation to the prototypical ko-tsubo of centuries before and deeply rooted in the Momoyama era, this jar gives hints to its age in some sense defining the period of pottery making in Japan just post-war until the 1960s. Though Rosanjin was obviously inspired by earlier Oribe works, this playful pot, is all about the 20th century, filled with all of the earmarks that point to more modern times. Loosely based on the uzukumaru form best known among Shigaraki wares, this form foregoes some of the absolute classical utility to exist as much as an object of beauty as it does a functional piece. Though Rosanjin's pottery is based in utility, he was as equally involved in the aesthetics and for him, that was best fulfilled when the pot was in use. This may seem to be a contradiction in his investment in the beauty of the object, but the designed completion of what he made was when it was covered or filled with food or in use for a flower arrangement or a sparse branch. In utility, comes the culmination of the form.

Despite what one may have heard or read about Rosanjin, there is no conceit or ego in this pot, rather it portrays a spring like exuberance and playfulness associated with the Oribe of old. From the rich, thick band of deep green glaze at the mouth, to the wispy cross hatched grasses swaying in a cool spring breeze, the pot is brought to life filled with emotion and expectation. I find that works like this, has a rather lyrical, even poetic side to them, a fine balance between what is seen and what is felt. The pot has a certain nobility to its character that is balanced by the nature of the decoration, though not a large pot, as with most Rosanjin works, it has more than enough energy and conversation to last a lifetime. I would think this is exactly what Furuta Shigenari (Oribe) would have had in mind.

"All pottery is a copy. The only question is what the copy is aiming for; what element of the original it is seeking to emulate."  Kitaoji Rosanjin

HINDSIGHT

I doubt an average day goes by where you don't think, in hindsight, I should have zigged when I zagged or had a salad instead of that funky gyro from a street vendor. I think this is a common affectation that is hard wired into all of our conscious and unconscious thoughts. As a potter I can think about how on all too frequent an occasion, as a pot comes out of the bisque or glaze I think, I should have done this or that, tried this mark, this glaze combo, etc. In essence, it is easy to correct a pot in hindsight or at the very least, make it just a bit better and that is what the learning process is all about. There are very few pots that you can't find some minor fault with, but there are also those pots that try as you may, they seem to exist without any fault and there is no reasonable way to improve upon them, those pots are the rare ones.

Illustrated is a chawan that would be hard to improve upon. The proportions are classic and very strong, the foot is just broad enough without being too wide or tall, the lip  has an inviting curve to it that makes it easy to drink from and the surface is rich with a fine cross hatched fence pattern which articulates the form. Though by no means a wild bowl, there is subtle gesture which adds to the charm and nobility of the bowl and when it is all added up, the tally indicates  that this chawan would be hard to critique or find fault with. I would expect this type of chawan to come from the studied hand (and mind) of Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959). His Shino works from the last decade of his life, show a combination of both a purely functional aesthetic together with a sense of the modern art movement of the 1950s. Even in hindsight, I think that what was good the day it was made, glazed and fired, is just as equally good today.

(Used with the kind permission of a private collector.)

AROUND THE WHEEL

In high school, I remember watching the series, Meeting of the Minds*, a Steve Allen TV show on PBS (1977 -1981) which operated on the premise that you could bring three historical individuals together at a table to ask questions and debate issues. In my mind I have always wondered what it would be like to assemble Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji and Kitaoji Rosanjin at a table on; AROUND THE WHEEL. I have no doubt that it would be an exceptionally enlightening discussion and a great, if not limited audience TV show. In the meantime, the closest I can come today is carrying on a dialogue between each individual’s pot and myself as viewer. This will just have to do for the time being though I do have ideas for several other shows; Kato Tokuro, Arakawa Toyozo and Tsukigata Nahiko and for another Hon’ami Koetsu, Raku Chojiro and Ogata Kenzan. I think I could get at least 3 or 4 years worth of shows! Now all I have to do is sit back and wait for all of that TV production development money!

(Illustration, left to right; Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji and Kitaoji Rosanjin)

*  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_Minds

ARAKAWA AS PAINTER

Arakawa Toyozo ( 1894-1985) is arguably the greatest Mino potter of the 20th century, known for his wonderful Shino, Ki-Seto and Seto-Guro masterpieces. Though known as this masterful potter, there is another facet of his artistic endeavors that one rarely sees excepting the occasional illustration in a catalogue or book. From early on, Arakawa painted in ink and watercolors, including a scroll of the famous Mutabora-gama which was his impetus for the rediscovery of Momoyama Shino.

Arakawa has left a fairly large number of his painted pottery, from stark and expressive sometsuke wares to colorful underglaze and overglaze enamel painted pottery running the gamut from traditional Japanese subject matter of flora and fauna to his own unique Nihonga inspired paintings. Some of these pottery works are iro-e style porcelains while others are seen in almost Rimpa, Ogata Kenzan inspired designs on slipware together with iron (tetsu-zu) designs on slipware and on and under Shino glazes.

Back before his discovery of the Mutabora-gama, Arakawa had been an assistant/student of Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959). Rosanjin was a strict task master, a powerful ego and an artist of numerous talents which included pottery, calligraphy, painting and the designing and decoration of lacquer, metalwork lamps, furniture and seal carving. It was in this fertile and multi-disciplined environment that Arakawa was exposed to Rosanjin’s exceptional calligraphy and paintings (panels, screens, scroll, shikishi, etc.) that he also adapted to his pottery. With the literati tradition that Arakawa was exposed to under Rosanjin, it was only natural he would use his pottery as canvas as well as creating two dimensional arts as well.

There are quite a few scroll paintings (kakejiku) and shikishi (board) paintings left that illustrate everything from his friends, adventures, flora, fauna, pottery and his own artistic unique renderings. All of the works I am aware of were painted in sumi ink or watercolors. His style of painting can be divided into three main categories; simple Momoyama inspired “ink traces”, Rimpa and Nihonga inspired designs with color and definition, but not overly detailed and lastly, his detailed and precise painting showing highly rendered images. The same three broad categories are also seen on his pottery, to included precisely rendered enamels designs and patterns on porcelain. His paintings are all very expressive, individual and free spirited.

I have seen several Shino chawan and several other pots that were accompanied by kakejiku depicting the pot along with a short narrative. There are also pieces that have shikishi that were included along with a wide variety of pots. The illustration is of a Shino chawan and narrative by Arakawa Toyozo. It depicts a typical Shino chawan with underglaze iron decoration of mountains and pine trees. No doubt this once accompanied the illustrated chawan but has now been separated from the piece.

The relevant question, where is that chawan?