Accessories: Inner box made of paulownia wood with gold-leaf lettering; outer box painted black with lettering
Provenance: Tōmachi Ryūin—Morioka Family of Owari Province
Catalogued in: Taisho Meiki Kanko (Catalog of Famous Tea Utensils from the Taisho Era)
Dimensions
Height: 8.0 cm; Mouth diameter: 12.2–13.0 cm; Foot diameter: 5.0 cm; Height of foot: 1.0 cm; Weight: 260 g
We must consider why such tea bowls have become popular among general tea enthusiasts.
This tea bowl does not seem to have a particularly high level of elegance. The rim is unnaturally distorted, and the artificiality is too obvious, which is somewhat off-putting. However, the fact that such tea bowls were appreciated signifies that a significant shift was already occurring within the tradition of tea.
Generally, such pieces are common in the preferences of the Enshu school, but the dominant interpretation is that distorting them rather than presenting them in their proper form is considered elegant. This reflects the transformation of tea ceremony, and when viewed in the context of that era, the significance of this piece as a masterpiece of Asahi-yaki becomes clear.
