Chawan / Maruta Munehiko
Oku-Korai Chawan by Maruta Munehiko
From an article I wrote some years back for the Japan Times: "The oku-korai style, just one of Karatsu's varied offerings, first appeared in the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. The Karatsu potters then were emulating Korean Ido and Komogai chawan. They are devoid of any flamboyant motifs and sit "simply robed" in silence like meditating monks. Buff-toned, with a wide form, they are the embodiment of the wabi-cha that Sen no Rikyu perfected in the 16th century." Here is a contemporary Oku-Korai chawan made by Maruta Munehiko; it is sublime and a 'spiritual tool' that also serves a more practical purpose, enjoying tea. We hear much about change these days and I wonder if the change that truly is needed starts from within... "An oku-korai chawan reflects a potter's soul, and as an Echizen potter once put it: "There are no bad kilns or bad clays, only impure potters' hearts."
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
