Karamono” refers to ceramics made in the Seto Heiko kiln by Fujishiro (Kato Shirozaemon Keisho) during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), who brought back Chinese clay and glaze when he entered the Sung dynasty (1368-1336). This is the general opinion of the tea ceremony masters, and it is also the opinion of the “Kokin Meimono Ruiju” and “Seto Pottery Origin,” but this theory is also disputed. According to the “Chawaniki Bengokushu” (Tea Ware Bengokushi), “There are many theories about Chinese tea caddies.
According to the article of July 8, 1734, in the Kyoho 19 (1734) Kyoho Juku Ki, “It is not said that Chinese tea caddies are made by Tōshirō today, but it is certain that they are made in China. I asked a merchant in China to search for old pottery in that country, and after comparing them, I realized that this was the case. The following is an excerpt from the book, “One person’s comment about the tea ceremony, without examining it carefully, is enough to make a thousand people agree with him. Today, we sometimes refer to karamono made by Fujishiro as “Fujishiro karamono,” while tea containers imported from overseas are called “kanzaku karamono. The “Taisho Meikikan” describes the so-called karamono and kanzaku tea caddies as follows: “The kanzaku and kanzaku tea caddies have been used since ancient times. The general view of tea masters regarding Chinese and Chinese-made tea caddies has been based on the theory of the “Meibutsu Ruju,” but a study of Chinese and Chinese ceramics today reveals that this theory is too simplistic to be credible. It is not controversial that those who now claim to be made in Han China are made by Chinese. Therefore, should all of the ceramics called “karamono” be made in Japan with the clay and glaze that Fujishiro brought back from China? The karamono tea containers that exist in Japan today are extremely numerous, and they could not have been made by a single person. Even if he were able to produce them, how would he be able to load such a large amount of clay and original glaze onto a small ship in the Song dynasty and bring it back home?
It is difficult to believe, based on common sense, that all of the Chinese tea containers in existence today were made by Fujishiro. Furthermore, in comparing Chinese and Chinese works, although the Tang dynasty is a little younger than the Han dynasty, some of them are almost indistinguishable. In addition, the style of production varies from one to the other, and it is obvious that they were not made by the same person at the same time. Although some of the Chinese works were made by Fujishiro using Chinese clay and Chinese medicine, the majority of them were made in China in various periods, just as the Chinese works were made in China. However, whether the so-called “karamono” was made by Fujishiro alone, or by Chinese potters, or even by Karamono Enza, it is possible to say that the majority of these pieces were made in China in various periods, as well as in China.
The fact that the Chinese and Chinese tea containers are not related in any way to the weight or weight of the vessels today is the reason why the ancient tea ceremony books distinguish between Chinese and Chinese wares, and we shall respect the opinions of the ancients by describing them as they are. The Chinese and Chinese tea containers are diverse, including hijusu and eggplants, but how many of them were first made in China as tea containers for powdered green tea? In Japanese tea ceremony books, it is written that in China, these vases are used as medicine vessels for storing powdered powder, and some tea caddies are said to be Yang Kwei-Hee’s oil vases. In short, there are a variety of uses for tea utensils depending on their shape, but after coming to Japan, they were all suitable for tea containers because they coincided with the fashion for tea ceremonies. The oldest Chinese and Chinese tea containers were made in the Tang dynasty, and the latest in the Ming dynasty, and there is a difference of five or six hundred years depending on the item. In the book “The Origin of Seto Ceramics” written by Matsudaira Fumai, it is written that the Han dynasty lasted from 1,000 to 300 years, from the time of Genwa Chokei in the Tang dynasty (the time of Datong Tienchou in the Japanese) to the time of Jingde Tianshun in the Ming dynasty (the time of Houtoku Kyoutoku in the Japanese), while Chinese tea caddies lasted over 500 years, from Jiading Hokei in the Song dynasty to Anzhen in the Japanese dynasty. Today, as another hundred years have passed since the reign of Prince Fumai, the age of Chinese and Chinese tea containers has increased even more, and it is needless to say that Chinese tea containers are among the world’s most treasured ancient ceramics. The geography of China, where Chinese and Chinese tea containers were produced, has not been precisely explained by anyone since ancient times. However, Japanese ships often landed in Zhejiang and Fujian due to the currents, and Fujian is the place where Susan is produced and where the pottery industry is most developed. There are various theories about Chinese and Tang tea containers imported to Japan since ancient times. Some say that Fujishiro made 66 tea containers in Japan, which were similar to those made in 66 countries, and brought them back to Japan. However, this is a vague and imaginary theory that cannot be fully trusted. However, this is a vague theory, and is not to be believed.
