Understanding Japanese Ceramics

The Beauty of a Clouded Moon: Wabi-Sabi, and a Single Tea Bowl

Wabi-sabi is not simply “the beauty of imperfection.” From the moon glimpsed between clouds that Murata Jukō is said to have described, to the fire colour of Shino and the single instant of Seto-gu...

Turn the Bowl Over: Where the Master's Hand Lives

A tea person picks up a bowl that has caught their eye, and the first thing they do is almost always the same — they turn it gently over. The kodai, the rim, the mikomi, the weight, the keshiki: a ...

What Is Shino? Japan's First White Glaze and the Fire That Colors It

There is a white in Japanese ceramics that does not gleam — closer to snow at dusk, or moonlight on paper. Shino was the first white glaze Japan ever made. The story of the fire that colours it, to...