The profound simplicity of the famed tea master Sen no Rikyu’s teaching is echoed m the spare interior of a thatched-roof tea hut at the Urasenke Foundation, head-

quarters of Japan’s most well-known tea school in the ancient cultural capital of Kyoto. Situated at the end of a winding gar-den path, the 10-foot-square room is framed by a flat reeded ceiling, papered sliding doors, unadorned earthen walls and tatami mats. A calligraphy scroll and a bamboo vase holding a single spring flower are displayed in a tokonoma (alcove) supported by a pine pillar. The late afternoon light filters through the paper-covered windows, illuminating an exqui-site ceramic tea bowl. The wind rustles the pine trees outside as water drips rhythmically onto a garden stone. In tranquil spaces such as these, sheltered from everyday distractions, host and guests gather to experience Chado (“The Japanese Way of Tea”), a way of life and spiritual discipline based on the simple act of preparing and serving tea, and receiving it with gratitude. Tea drinking in Japan was first practiced in temples in the 12th cen-tury by Zen monks who had brought tea from Chi-na. It was an extension of the Chinese Zen Buddhist practice in which pow-dered green tea leaves were whisked with hot water in a bowl and drunk as an aid to meditation. Another form of tea drinking, which originated in China’s Northern Song court, focused on the aesthetic and sensory qualities of tea and the utensils associated with it. In early 16th-century Japan, this practice developed into the tea cer-emony, a ritualized art form called chanoyu, which became popular with the literati and aristocracy, as well as with the warrior and merchant classes. Executed with treasured ce-ramics and other utensils in a series of prescribed move-ments, the tea ceremony reached its peak of refinement dur-ing the Momoyama period (1574-1600), due largely to the vision of Rikyu, who served as tea master to the powerful military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Rikyu identified chanoyu with the Zen principles of re-spect, purity, harmony and tranquility, and endowed it with an aesthetic significance that has not diminished over time. Increasingly attracting the attention of many non-Japanese individuals who have adopted it as a life enhancing intel-lectual and spiritual pursuit, the tea ceremony is a virtual microcosm of Japanese culture, incorporating a vast array of traditional arts and crafts ranging from architecture and garden design to calligraphy, painting, lacquerware, bamboo and ceramics. The essence of chanoyu is perhaps best preserved in its ceramic tea bowls, tea caddies, water jars, flower vases, dishes and serving bowls, the best of which are considered by experts to be one of the highest expressions of an ancient

“Tea is not but this: First you heat the water, Then you make the tea. Then you drink it properly. That is all you need to know.” -Sen no Rikyῡ (1522-91)

The essence and serenity of green tea. FACING: The Yuin (meaning “again retire”) tea but on the grounds of the Ura-senke Houe in Kyoto was built for the retirement of the Sen Sotan, a Japanese tea master and modeled after the ideals

and principles of his grandfather; the noted tea master Sen no Rikyῡ. A black Seto tea bowl (facing bottom) and two kokoha-ku-yu black-and-white glazed tea bowls by Richard Milgram demonstrate the charm of variation within ceramic style

ART & ANTIQUES OCTOBER 2000

Silence passes between guests and host engaged in the wabi-cha ceremony. Elaborate, yet simply elegant utensils adorn the host’s seat situated near brazier: a Katatsuki-style container known as “Ikoma,” a black Raku-ware tea bowl by Chōjiroō, Shigaraki ware fresh water jar and a Namban ware waste-water jar.

Japanese ceramic tradition. These wares are used in the tea ceremony along with an iron kettle and brazier and a bamboo tea whisk and scoop—each works of art in their own right. The chajin (tea person) chooses the ceramics and other utensils for both their intrinsic beauty and rela-tionship to each other, to the host’s and guests’ tastes, the seasons and the occasion. The purpose is to cre-ate a harmonious balance of forms, textures, colors and materials that offer a shared aesthetic and sensory experience savored for its singular, transitory qual-ity. Collectors use the tea ceremony as a showcase for their ceramics, presenting works from different kilns that complement each other. “Tea ceramics are highly valued by the Japanese because of the historical significance of chanoyu and its deep connection to all aspects of Japanese culture,” says Toda Hiroshi, a pre-eminent dealer of Japanese

tea ceramics in Osaka. “The best pieces achieve the ultimate integration of beauty and function. They must conform to certain standards of size, weight and balance, and must be usable in order to succeed. Yet they are still recognized as individual works of art. That’s what sets them apart from other ceramics.” Antique tea bowls are especially prized for their in-timate connection with previous owners, particularly those that once belonged to great tea masters, shoguns (medieval military rulers) and daimyos (feudal lords), who often discussed politics over tea and rewarded each other with gifts of precious tea bowls and cad-dies. Tea ceramics grow more appealing with age and use, acquiring a patina that expresses wabi—a Japa-nese aesthetic associated with chanoyu that began to develop in the 15th century. Rooted in medieval Japanese poetry and Zen philosophy, wabi refers to a state of mind that embraces simplicity, austerity, the renunciation of material things and recognition of “beauty in poverty” and “perfection in imperfection” –an old, cracked and stained tea bowl being the per-fect example. “The first uniquely Japanese teawares were cre-ated in the spirit of wabi,” says Louise Cort, curator of ceramics at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer and Sackler galleries. “Formal Chinese ceramics were ini-tially favored for the tea ceremony. But by the 16th century, tea masters had discovered the rustic beauty of indigenous utilitarian ceramics first made at the kilns in Bizen and Shigaraki, and began to commis-sion teawares from them.” Tea ceramics are distinguished by different forms, glazes and clays unique to specific kilns throughout Japan. Many of the country’s more than 10,000 studio potters continue to make teawares in the tradition of their predecessors, while introducing their own unique innovations in clays, glazes and kilns. Specific visual effects also depend upon where and how the pots are placed in the kiln, how long they are fired, kiln tem-perature and amount and type of wood used. Kyoto, the historic seat of Japanese culture and tea connoisseurship, is home to the Raku family of pot-ters, who for the past four centuries have been produc-ing the most famous teawares in Japan. Hand-formed and carved from clay that retains the heat, Raku tea bowls were first made by the tile-maker Chojiro in the late 16th century under the patronage of Rikyu, who sought a Japanese counterpart to the simple Korean tea bowls. Valued for its wabi elegance, Raku-ware is round-bottomed and glazed either red or black with iron-rich clay and powdered rock from Kyoto’s Kamo River. In his modest Kyoto workshop, the 15th-generation Raku Kichizaemon creates inspired interpretations of traditional Raku-ware. Made with the same clay and techniques used by his family for centuries, his tea bowls show a masterful handling of surface, color and

Clockwise from top right: an Oribe flower vase by Kitaōji Rosanjin (1883 - 1953) from Joan B Mirviss Ltd. in New York City; Kichuzaemon Raku Vx tea bowl; diminutive black Raku tea bowl, “Saihou,” 3 inches in height and 5 inches in diam-

eter by Ichinyu, the 4th Raku master (1640-96), accompanied by a box certified by Raku Keinyu (11th Raku master) and Kakunyu (14th Raku master); Richard Milgrim’s gray Shino serving bowl, 1997.

texture. Expressionistic, painterly glazes are one of his hallmarks. Kyoto also is the source of tea ceramics by the noted 17th-century potter Nonomura Ninsei, who specialized in intricate overglaze enamel decorations. His successor, Ogata Kenzan, active during the early 18th century, is famous for his over- and under-glazed Kenzan-ware with bold, modernist designs. Contem-porary Kyoto potters Tsuuji Azan, Yasuda Hiroto and Matsuda Yuriko, who is noted for her whimsical por-celain teawares, have extended the colorful decora-tive tradition of Ninsei and Kenzan. Tea ceramics made in the Mino style are the spe-cialty of American Richard Milgrim, the first West-ern potter whose teawares are endorsed by the Grand Tea Master of the Urasenke tea school. A recently fired collection of tea bowls and water jars in unusual shapes crowd his studio north of Kyoto. Their thick, white glazes and iron-oxide painting are characteris-tic of Shino ware, developed during the Momoyama period at the Mino kilns and favored by tea connois-seurs. “I see myself as a bridge between East and West, the past and present,” says Milgrim, whose col-ors and glazes often strike a balance of opposites, the Eastern yin and yang. Characterized by their wide range and innovative use of glazes, the tea ceramics traditionally associated with the Mino kilns also include pieces in the green-

known for their antique and contemporary teawares are Karatsu, whose brown-toned tea bowls are prized for their wabi quali-ties; Bizen, noted for its rough-textured, unglazed stoneware; and Seto, associated with elegant, brown-glazed tea caddies in the Chinese style. While the demand for teawares in Japan remains strong, dealers say Japanese ce-ramics in general are an underappreciated art form in the West, where there is often a prejudicial boundary between what is con-sidered high art and craft. Japan, whose wares are noted for their technical virtu-osity and extensive variety of forms, glaze styles and designs, is nevertheless the most advanced ceramics producing country in the world. Of course, teawares can be adapted for a variety of uses in the home, while potters noted for their teawares also make other types of utilitarian, as well as sculptural, ceramics. As the tea ceremony itself becomes

more popular outside Japan, as evidenced by the wait-ing list for the Urasenke tea school, the market for tea ceramics is expected to grow. Dealers in Japan, including Yanagi Takashi of Kyoto and Setsu Gatodo Gallery in Tokyo, offer the largest selection of antique

and black-glazed Oribe style, popular with many contemporary Japanese potters, in-cluding the late mid-20th-century master Kitaoji Rosanjin. Amid the pine-studded hills south of Kyoto lies the historic pottery town of Shigaraki, one of many medieval regional kilns whose tea ceramics are distinguished by a clay rich in minerals that, when fired, produces a warm orange color with a nat-ural green ash glaze, punctuated by glassy feldspar bubbles. Here, Kanzaki Shiho and the American Gary Moler are creat-ing innovative ceramic tea bowls, water jars and vases using traditional wood-fired kilns. In the picturesque castle town of Hagi on the Japan Sea coast, the Miwa and Saka families are perpetuating a 400-year-old ceramic tradition that originated with Korean potters who were brought to Japan by the Hagi daimyo. The 90-year-old Miwa Kyusetsu XI, who developed a unique thick, white crackled glaze that expands upon the rice-straw ash glaze used by his ancestors, is a Liv-ing National Treasure, a rare honor bestowed by the Japanese government. His exquisite bowls and jars are among the most sought-after teawares. Other kilns

teawares at prices ranging from several thousand dol-lars to hundreds of thousands. Some antique bowls have sold for up to $1 million. Those with signed boxes denoting ownership by historic collectors and tea masters are more valuable, as are those by revered masters such as Raku Chojiro. The greatest variety of contemporary tea ceramics is shown in weekly exhibitions at Japanese department stores, such as Takashimaya and Mitsukoshi, where quality works of art by emerging potters sell for as little as $2,000, while those by established potters sell for $30,000 and more. Teawares by well-known pot-ters, such as Raku KichizaemonXV have sold for up to six figures, outpricing many antique pieces by lesser-known potters. Of course, one doesn’t have to own expensive ce-ramics to enjoy and partake in the tea ceremony. Ac-cording to Hatakeyama Hisako, who presides over the famed Hatakeyama Collection of tea ceremony objects in Tokyo: “Tea is a state of mind. In this high-tech age, it offers a silent retreat, a way of develop-ing an inner tranquility in the company of others. It’s also a very subjective aesthetic experience. The true beauty of the tea ceremony and the art works involved is ultimately completed by your own imagination.”

Craftsman Kanzaki Shiho, at his kiln in Shigaraki, performs only one task of the many necessary for the creation of an exquisite tea ceramic.