Kizaemon

Kizaemon, dichiarata TESORO Nazionale. del giappone.

E' conservata avvolta in un prezioso tessuto, inserito in una preziosissima scatola. Questa chiusa in una scatola di legno, in una scatola di ferro, in una scatola di bronzo. In una scatola io dico d'oro, fatta con tutti i denti degli Imperatori del Giappone. Non vede quasi mai la luce del sole. Se la guarda uno con occhi profani, il Direttore del Museo si suicida facendo karakiri, e con lui tutti i suoi cardellini. ma non sto scherzando... anche se non sono assolutamente preciso.

. . .this bowl is quite obviously far from perfect.  Accross the exterior of its body a horizontal scorch mark can be seen; . . . The bowl is warped and the lines of its simple out-flared shape are irregular.  The lower surface or foot has an uneven shrinkage where the glaze started to leave ts surface of the bowl during the firing.  This is called "sharkskin" and much admied by the Japanese.
With the passage of time, the white slip into which the ido bowl was dipped has darkened or seasoned, evidencing loving usage, now having mellowed into a creamy orange color.  Recognizing the importance of the passage of time was essential in the "poverty tea" of Sen Rikyu.  Time was also to be appreciated in the sense of the wonderousness of the present, to be totally aware of the present moment.  The scorch mark, the glaze irregularities, all indicate the kiln's instant moment or Zen awareness. 

Of the “Kizaemon Ido” Yanagi writes:

   This single Tea-bowl is considered to be the finest in the world. There are three main kinds of Tea-bowls, those originating in China, Korea and Japan respectively. The most lovely are from Korea, and men of Tea always give them first place. (he goes on to explain the varieties of Korean bowls then writes. . ) The finest are called meibutsu O Ido, meibutsu signifying the particularly fine pieces. There are twenty six bowls registered as meibutsu, but the finest of them all, . . ., is Known as Kizaemon Ido. This bowl is said to contain the essence of Tea.

   Later Yanagi continues:

   . . .For a long time I wished to see this Kizaemon bowl. I had expected to see that “essence of Tea”, the seeing eye of Tea masters, and to test my own perception; for it is the embodiment in miniature of beauty, of the love of beauty, of the philosophy of beauty, and of the relationship of beauty and life. It was within box after box, five deep, buried in wool and wrapped in purple silk.

   When I saw it, my heart fell. A good Tea-bowl, yes, but how ordinary! So simple, no more ordinary thing could be imagined. There is not a trace or ornament, not a trace of calculation. It is just a Korean food bowl, a bowl. Moreover, that a poor man would use everyday – commonest crockery.

   A typical thing for his use; costing next to nothing; made by a poor man; an article without the flavour of personality; used carelessly by its owner; bought without pride; something anyone could have bought anywhere and everywhere. That’s the nature of this bowl. The clay had been dug from the hill at the back of the house; the glaze was made with the ash from the hearth; the potter’s wheel had been irregular. The shape revealed no particular thought: it was one of many. The work had been fast; the turning was rough, done with dirty hands; the throwing slipshod; the glaze had run over the foot. The throwing room had been dark. The thrower could not read.  The kiln was a wreched affair; the firing careless. Sand had stuck to the pot, but nobody minded; no one invested the thing with any dreams. It is enough to make one give up working as a potter. . . . . .

   But that is how it should be. The plain and unagitated, the uncalculated, the  harmless, the straightforward, the natural, the innocent, the humble, the modest: where does beauty lie if not in these qualities? The meek, the austere, the un-ornate – they are the natural characteristics that gain man’s affection and respect.  Yanagi then discusses the importance of nature to Tea-bowls:

   All beautiful Tea-bowls are those obedient to nature. Natural things are healthy things. There are many kinds of art, but none is better than this. Nature produces still more startling results than artifice. The most detailed human knowledge is puerile before the wisdom of nature. Why should beauty emerge from the world of the ordinary? The answer is because that world is natural. In Zen there is a saying that at the far end of the road lies effortless peace. What more can be desired?  So, too, peaceful beauty. The beauty of the Kizaemon Ido bowl is that of strifeless peace, and it is fitting that it should rest in that chapel, the Koho-an, for in that quiet place it offers its silent answer to the seeker.

  

The Korean potter who made it remains unknown but what is know is something of the conditions under which it was made.

 

questo è solo un fiore di loto in una tazza da the;

ritorniamo nell'ordinario,  nell'umano.