| 1. Returning to Earth: The Oribe style |
|
The history of ceramic art in Japan from the end of the Muromachi period through the Momoyama period is marked by two developments that are completely different from anything that occurred elsewhere. One was a "return to earth", the material of clay. The history of ceramic ware in other countries follows an evolution from earthenware to stoneware to glazed ware and, eventually, to porcelain, which became the main form of ceramic ware. However, the tea masters of the late Muromachi period, who developed the so-an (thatched-cottage) esthetic, began to pay attention to the natural beauty of the stoneware jars used for storing seeds in farm houses, and they began to use them as water jars and flower vases in the tea ceremony. This led to the subsequent production of numerous stoneware tea bowls. This was a counter-movement, based on the idea of a "return to earth", in the history of ceramics, which tended toward the development of porcelain.
|
|
One of the major results of the so-an tea ceremony was the Oribe style of ceramics. This style, with its asymmetrical forms and abstract design, started in Mine and spread to Shigaraki, Iga, Bizen, Tamba, Hagi, Karatsu and Satsuma. This style, a unique creation of Japanese ceramics, is unlike anything found in other countries. A special exhibition of Oribe ware was presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States, and museum visitors were impressed by the freedom and creative aesthetic sense of Oribe ceramics, which showed similarities to modern art.
The "return to earth" and the Oribe style are original developments that have helped nourish a uniquely Japanese aesthetic sense in ceramics.
|
| 3. Toyo Kaneshige |
|
After Bizen ware had been in decline for a long period of time, Lancashire Toyo was born into one of the six major families managing the Bizen kilns. He became highly skilled as a ceramic craftsman and was known for his sencha bowls and decorative ceramic ware. However, he was not content to rest on his laurels and began concentrating his efforts on the revival of Momoyama Bizen. As he began producing tea ware seriously in the early Showa era, he was working entirely alone and had to go through a long period of study and trial and error. He was almost 40 years old before he abandoned decorative ceramic production and began to focus on making tea ware on the wheel. Toyo's shift of direction determined the future of all Bizen ceramic production. The flourishing of Bizen ware that continues to this day is the result of his hard work and refined sensibility, which was directly inspired by the beauty and power of Momoyama Bizen. His enormous achievements have earned him the title of the father of Bizen ceramics.
The extent of Toyo's accomplishment makes it hard to imagine how it was possible for a single person. He made effective use of tsuchi-aji (the "flavor" of clay, the appearance of unglazed clay) and hidasuki (fire-cord markings), traditional features of Bizen ware which he developed in his own way, and he has worked in a wide variety of ceramic styles from Momoyama to a modern style incorporating his own innovations.
|
|
Such techniques as sumisangiri (producing a gray color by burying a piece in ash near a stoke hole during firing), which Toyo established, were carried on by other makers of Bizen ware, which was once again flourishing because of his influence. However, I believe that a limitation was placed on modern Bizen ware because the majority of its practitioners have unconsciously chosen Toyo as their model rather than the original style of the Momoyama era. In an earlier article, I have written that mainstream modern Bizen is characterized by "water jars that look like charcoal extinguishers coated with heavy makeup and flower vases that look like clay pipes". This was intended as a precaution to the Bizen kilns, which are enjoying unprecedented prosperity and employing over 300 potters. I am bothered greatly when I see bleak, dried-up surfaces of pots with ash spotting that look like bits of coking coal, artificial botan mochi ("red rice cake", a red color on those parts of vessels covered by other vessels in firing) and other unusual firing effects.
|
| 4. Abe Anjin |
|
I was impressed by a small exhibition of the work of Abe Anjin that I saw in Tokyo because it was completely different from that of other Bizen potters in form and surface texture. Abe's work is based on tradition, but it has great vitality and freshness. The surfaces of his pots do not have the heavily made-up look of sumisangiri. The surface is marked by the profound effects of high-temperature firing and a pleasant sense of warmth. The variations in tsuchi-aji and surface texture are very natural and unforced. I have had few opportunities to see Abe's work since then, but because his pottery emits the strength and beauty of "the real thing", I know that this effect has increased in intensity. One reason behind his success is persistent experimentation with his kiln, which he has modified more than twenty times. His rediscovery of Momoyama Bizen and revival of its technology have contributed to the development of his own technique. His work has reached this high level because of his ability to harmonize surface texture and form in way that no other modern Bizen artist has been able to achieve.
|
|
Modern Bizen ware is often seen as a simple revival of the traditional Momoyama-era style and approach to ceramics. Unfortunately, Abe's work has been mistakenly included in this category. However, the forms and expressions of his ceramics are his own. I see no evidence that he is copying Momoyama masterpieces as his own work. It might be said that Abe has grasped the spirit behind Momoyama Bizen rather than its outside appearance. He expresses a liveliness of spirit and joy in creation as well as a sense of freedom in his work. Observing his work, you will likely feel a similar level of power radiating from it, qualities derived from Momoyama Bizen that also reflect something 'distinctively Abe.' You may sense an atmosphere that is the same as that of the Momoyama period but also unique in Abe's work.
|
Bizen ware has passed through a long history, from Momoyama Bizen to Toyo Kaneshige. As it passes to Angina Abe, it has finally surpassed the achievement of Momoyama. There are many potters who are studying Abe's firing technique. Taking Abe's work as a model, they see a bright future in the field of ceramics.
I would like to express my respect for the work of these two masters, Toyo Kaneshige, the famous Living National Treasure, and Abe Anjin, who has not yet been sufficiently recognized. Some of Abe's work was collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art last year after a thorough screening. Abe is the second Japanese ceramic artist whose work has been honored by being acquired for the museum's collection. It is encouraging to find that people such as Dankel Parker of the Collection Center of the Metropolitan Museum have the ability and insight to appreciate the creativity of these artists. If the exhibition had included some pieces of Momoyama Bizen, it would have made it easier to see how Toyo and Anjin made use of Bizen traditions and clarified the differences between them and the directions they chose to take.
|
