Accessories: Box, paulownia wood, white wood, label, inscription; same inscription on underside of lid
Provenance: Nezu Aoyama
Catalogued in: Taishō Meiki Kagami (Catalog of Famous Tea Bowls from the Taishō Era)
Dimensions
Height: 8.2–8.7 cm, Mouth diameter: 13.7–14.0 cm, Foot diameter: 5.7–5.8 cm, Height: 1.2 cm, Weight: 557 g
Owner: Tokyo Nezu Museum
This “Yama no Hata” is a tea bowl of the same series as “Mine Momiji,” “Higaki,” and “Yokogumo.” In the summer and autumn of 1932, the author conducted a comprehensive excavation survey of the kiln in Minokayama, and during that time, he discovered numerous pottery fragments identical to these tea bowls.
Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that most of these tea bowls were fired in this kiln.
A common feature of these tea bowls is that they are all thinly made, giving them a very lively feel.
It is likely that these tea bowls were favored by tea masters for their ability to evoke “iki” within “wabi.” The name “Yama no Hata” probably originated from this concept.
From the Man’yōshū,
“As the May rain clears, the clouds hanging over the mountain’s edge grow thin,”
has been chosen as a poem inscription.
The mud plaster applied in a thick layer differs from “Minekōyō,” but the turtle shell and cypress fence patterns are similarly carved away.
