Ido Tea Bowls: Treasured Possessions of Muromachi Daimyō

[Henry Wilson]

I so have to go to this....

 

http://www.nezu-muse.or.jp/en/exhibitions/index.html

[ROKUJURO]

Definitely!

 

I envy you a little for this great opportunity to see the most famous CHAWAN assembled in one place!

[Marius]

I'd love to see all these famous bowls (i own a few less famous Ido chawan, LOL) if only to see if I feel as Soetsu Yanagi has felt when he was shown the Kizaemon bowl.

 

Thanks for the info Henry

[Robert Mormile]

Recommendations to anyone visiting the exhibition would be to bring earplugs. I visited the Raku Museum in Kyoto ( http://www.raku-yaki.or.jp ) a few weeks ago and it was ruined by a group of women that felt it necessary to make silly comments very-loudly on each of the 50 objects on display. The ceramic floors turned their loud voices into a flock of geese.

 

Thanks for posting the info. Robert

[Pete Klein]

LOL -- I have heard the same thing about the women here in the USA that at their meetings they are the most obnoxious bunch of XXXXXXXXX you will ever meet. Rikyu -- why did you teach your wife? LOL!!!

 

(actually, it might explain the sepukuh)... lol

[Henry Wilson]

At a cultural event near you.

 

 

My wife and I were in an antique shop in Nara recently and a group of such leopard skin pattern clad ladies who were browsing accused the owner of stealing all the stuff in the shop and told him he should give them a better discount because of that!!! There some weird logic going on which was very funny.

[Robert Mormile]

Henry:

 

I am fairly certain that these were the ladies at the Raku Museum. Nothing like trying to breath in that atmosphere of wabi-sabi with someone screaming “Look! A red one!” “Look! this one has a rabbit on it!” I was more disappointed with the museum officials who timidly witnessed the atrocity. The collection can be viewed in 45 minutes, they should just prohibit loud talking inside the three exhibition halls. Best of luck at the Ido exhibition.

 

Robert

[Pete Klein]

Anyone who was at the 2012 Chicago show Saturday afternoon can tell you about the 'Bunny Lady', who went around the tables practically shrieking to her boyfriend, "Oh LOOOOOK -- BUNNIEEEEEES" whenever she came across anything remotely like a rabbit theme! It was like Honey Boo Boo on LSD! ROFLMAO!!!

[watsonmil]

Dear All,

Years ago, ... I was told : Women have two places in life and one of them is the kitchen. The second was obviously not museums nor antique shops/shows !

... Anonymouse Ron

[Brian]

Is there an emoticon for hiding under the table?

Are you guys trying to get me into trouble?

 

Brian

[kusunokimasahige]

If we would want to make you hide under the table Brian we would have posted a certain middle aged Russian lady roaming Facebook at this time..... Who does all sorts of tricks... But not with the ping pong ball.

 

About rowdy ladies and irritating folk. When I worked in the Museum of Antiquities there were several annoying groups visiting from time to time. Most irritating were secondary school groups of which some pupils were so bored they decided to stick gum on ancient statues.

 

Older people can be irritating too. Once at the cultures and ethnicities museum they had an exhibit of Japanese traditional arts and crafts. There was a guy, in his sixties, with a woman in her sixties, he dressed in some arty farty coat, shawl and hat, and she in abundant gold necklaces, earrings, and a overly painted face. They were looking at a Japanese Maiko comb with maki-e designs. He said to the woman: "well, this here is the epitomy of the zeste for emptiness in form which the Japanese used to let the feeling of the fleeting world combine with that of the filled world of the Edo Period".

 

I could not resist and said: "It is just a comb".

 

He got angry.

 

Ah the horror of crowds and semi-intellectual museum visitors...

 

KM

 

The museum is definetely on my to do list one day.

[Pete Klein]

Several years ago, while I was at the San Francisco Token Kai a friend and I journeyed into the city to go to the 'Lords of the Samurai' exhibition of the Hosokawa Daimyo Clan / Eisei Bunko Treasures collection exhibit at the Asian Museum. At that time I was just beginning my study of tea wares in relation to wabicha and the Momoyama Nihonto fittings which they influenced. Having never seen any of these chadogu before, aside from books or on-line, I had no real life reference points to guide me. At the back of the exhibit hall enclosed in a large windowed wall case around a corner I came face to face with a petite chaire, (tea caddy), so delicate that it looked as if a breath would crack it. I had, to use an aged term, an epiphany. (The word gob-smacked also comes to mind). I stood there literally staring at that little chaire, unable to process the simple yet profound beauty of it. I have never seen a sword, piece of kodogu nor koshirae which had that effect on me. I have come to understand that at that moment 'I Got It' as to why those samurai held these pieces so dearly. It is an experience I can highly recommend.

[Henry Wilson]

I can relate to that experience entirely. The same sort of thing happened to me when I first stayed in a ryokan with my wife to be. The washitsu just blew my mind as did the whole inn, the food, onsen and it's location. It was the middle of autumn and the koyo (autumn colours) were at its best. For me, the whole experience was quite sublime and is one of my best memories, and my first real taste of traditional Japan.

 

Anyway went to the Nezu museum and saw the exhibition. There was about 75 bowls on display and covered O Ido, Ko Ido and Ao Ido. The Kizaemon was amazing as was the Shibata bowl which were the highlights for me.

 

The Nezu garden behind the museum is always lovely but was extra beautiful and in the middle if koyo. Nezu is by far my favourite museum.

[Pete Klein]

Having grown up on the South Side of Chicago next to a forest preserve I remember these colors well. Unfortunately, we do not have this in South Florida. We also don't have -20 oF... :D

[cabowen]

Having grown up on the South Side of Chicago next to a forest preserve I remember these colors well. Unfortunately, we do not have this in South Florida. We also don't have -20 oF... :D

 

You also don't have deep dish pizza or italian beef sandwiches....Life is just one big tradeoff I guess! :lol:

[Pete Klein]

Or Kolaches, or Babi Rye, or --- I'm starting to cry...

[Brian]

 

Brian

[Henry Wilson]

[John A Stuart]

I plan to drop by tomorrow and check it out. Maybe no Obatallion by now. John

[kusunokimasahige]

Is know which Daimyo's owned these cups ?

 

KM

[Henry Wilson]

Hi KM

 

In the display, not all cups are matched with a daimyo but some are. The catalogue will probably have such information. If it does, it is in the Japanese text which I have yet to look at properly. The discouraging thing is that they have not included furigana to help reading the kanji which I find quite off putting.

 

The only thing that struck me as odd in the display was the way the bowls are secured to stop them from toppling. Two pieces of fish line across the top of the bowl are used to fasten it to the display surface. The lines cast a fine shadow which initially looks like big long cracks cutting he bowl in 4. You get used to it, but I found this quite distracting.

[Pete Klein]

I would imagine they need to be protected from possible earthquake induced movement within the cases.

[Henry Wilson]

Yes, that is exactly the intention Pete.

 

More here:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/201 ... pPXXyd41hI

[John A Stuart]

I saw the exhibit today. You really have to like Ido chawan to appreciate this collection from all over Japan. Some quacking, not much. Subways which I deplore were hot and close, however I am glad I went. John