High-end ceramics from the manga "Hyougemono"
During the Warring States period, a single tea bowl was worth as much as a country - did you know the depths of such a culture? While warlords were devoting their lives to conquering the country, there were people who dedicated their lives to the tea ceremony and arts and crafts. Yoshihiro Yamada's historical manga "Hyougemono" is an ambitious work that depicts an era of war from a novel perspective, shining the spotlight not on swords and spears, but on tea bowls and the arts of tea. This work was serialized in Morning magazine from 2005 to 2017 and won the Excellence Award in the Manga Division of the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Grand Prize in the Manga Division of the 14th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. It was also made into an anime by NHK in 2011. It is also called "the world's first full-scale historical comedy manga" that is different from conventional Sengoku stories. It has captivated many readers with its original worldview that combines humor with historical research.
In this article, I would like to critically explore the appeal of "Hyougemono" through its plot and main characters, its depiction of tea ceremony and ceramics, and comparisons with real tea masters. I will consider from various angles the dynamics of beauty and power, and tradition and innovation, that this work, which reinterprets the traditions of the tea ceremony in the context of pop culture, presents.
Synopsis and main characters
A portrait of Furuta Oribe (Furuta Sasuke Shigeno), a Sengoku warlord and tea master. As the protagonist of "Hyougemono," he is portrayed as a man whose soul was stolen by the arts. Furuta Oribe was a military commander who served Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but he was also a unique character with a strong attachment to tea utensils and art objects.
The story is as symbolized by the catchphrase, "This is the story of Furuta Oribe, a warlord of the Sengoku period who struggles daily between his desires for success and material things." The story revolves around the life of Oribe, who is torn between his ambition to rise to power as a warrior and his desire to collect the finest tea utensils and specialties and pursue the pinnacle of beauty.
Oribe's teacher, Sen no Rikyu , the greatest tea master in the world, is also an important character in this work. Rikyu was known as a tea master who pursued the aesthetics of "wabi," which values simplicity and tranquility, to the utmost. In the beginning of the story, Oribe appears as a strict teacher who teaches Oribe the tea ceremony. Oribe, on the other hand, is an admirer of Rikyu, but secretly harbors a taste for extravagance and eccentricity that differs from his teacher. At the beginning of the story, Oribe is torn between his dream of achieving military success as a retainer of the Oda clan and his appreciation of beauty as an aficionado. The final moments of two contrasting figures, Matsunaga Hisahide, who died for his ambition as a warrior, and Araki Murashige, who gave up his position as a military commander and lived a life of refined taste, are depicted before his eyes, and he is forced to ponder the path he should take. Episodes like this leave a vivid impression on the reader as to the inner world of Oribe, a man whose identity wavers between the two paths of martial arts and beauty.
Warring States heroes such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi are also indispensable main characters in "Hyougemono." Nobunaga is portrayed as a revolutionary who sought to take over the country, but at the same time as an intellectual who loved tea utensils and specialties from the Nanban region, and appears as an embodiment of a bold and open-minded aesthetic sense, or "beauty of flower." On the other hand, Hideyoshi was a strategist who brought Rikyu to power and used wabi-cha tea, but he also had a dual personality as he gradually reverted from his vanity as the ruler of Japan to Nobunaga's flashy tastes. This film vividly depicts the unexpected side of these historical heroes -- their valor as well as their aesthetic sense and knowledge of the tea ceremony -- and spins a human drama not found in textbooks. For example, the passage in which Oda Nobunaga used tea utensils in political battles and came into conflict with Sen no Rikyu over values of beauty is a historical interpretation unique to this work. The bold plot, in which the aesthetic conflict between Rikyu's "beauty of wabi" and Nobunaga's "beauty of hana" ultimately influenced the political upheaval of the Honnoji Incident, exaggerates the power of tea ceremony culture while still portraying it in a thrilling way, and is sure to stimulate the reader's intellectual curiosity.
Depictions of the Tea Ceremony and Ceramics: The Eyes and Desires of Connoisseurs
The depiction of tea utensils is meticulous down to the smallest detail. From famous tea utensils associated with Sen no Rikyu to avant-garde tea bowls that Oribe would later make himself, which were not afraid of distortions or chips, many famous and rare items that are said to have actually existed appear in the play. For example, the black tea bowls and Raku ware tea bowls, which were the wabi utensils that Rikyu perfected as the world's greatest tea master, are depicted as having austere beauty, while the tea utensils with the unusual designs that Oribe liked have a strong presence in the play with their bold green glazes and geometric patterns. The texture and weight of these ceramics are expressed with lines that seem to come from within the frames, and the reader can feel immersed as if they are in the tea room picking up the tea bowls and looking at them.
Another notable feature of this work is the dramatic depiction of how the tea ceremony was not merely a hobby or art, but was inseparable from the politics and diplomacy of the time. Warlords would hold secret talks over tea ceremonies, solidify alliances by exchanging famous tea utensils, and sometimes even gauge each other's aesthetic sense as a factor in political decision-making. Historical episodes such as the Kitano Grand Tea Ceremony held by Sen no Rikyu as a way to entertain the Empress Dowager, and the anecdote of Ishida Mitsunari's execution of Yamagami Soji are reconstructed within the play, giving the tea ceremony an air of tension similar to that of a battlefield rife with intrigue and schemes. The way in which negotiations over a single tea utensil could determine the outcome of a battle is a bold piece of fiction, but it succeeds in impressing on the reader the great power of "culture." The thrill of the intersection of beauty and power, spirituality and material desire, is perhaps the true essence of the depiction of the tea ceremony in "Hyougemono."
The aesthetics of Furuta Oribe and Sen no Rikyu: A comparison with historical facts
A portrait of Sen no Rikyu (Omotesenke Fushin'anzo) said to have been painted by Hasegawa Tohaku, a painter of the Momoyama period. Rikyu's simple and strict appearance exudes the dignity of Rikyu, the embodiment of wabi-cha tea. On the other hand, his disciple Furuta Oribe is said to be the foremost of the Seven Philosophers of Rikyu, but his aesthetics are quite different from his master's. While Rikyu perfected the spirit of "wabi-sabi" and established the beauty of simplicity, silence, and austerity in the tea ceremony, Oribe inherited his master's teachings but breathed new life into it with his bold ingenuity. In fact, Oribe is said to have pursued a tea ceremony that incorporated the beauty of movement and vivid designs, while daring to overturn the existing aesthetic sense of tranquility and austerity, based on the wabi-cha tea perfected by Sen no Rikyu. The distorted shapes and innovative painting of Oribe ware that emerged at the kilns in Mino under his supervision, as well as the teahouse designs that favored unusual designs, came to be known as "Oribe-style" and sparked a huge fad at the time. This was a trend in beauty that contrasted with Rikyu's wabi aesthetic, and it is an episode that illustrates just how unconventional a tea master Oribe was. The master-disciple relationship between Rikyu and Oribe is a major axis of the work. Rikyu is like a stern father who drills the young Oribe into the mindset of a tea master, but as the story progresses, the relationship between the two becomes increasingly complicated. While Oribe holds dear the "spirit of tea" he inherited from his teacher, he does not compromise his own aesthetic sense, and after Rikyu's death, he carves out his own unique way of doing tea. This is the story of the struggles of an innovator who tries to create new beauty while preserving tradition, and depicts the complex relationship between master and disciple, who are at odds and influence each other due to their different values regarding beauty. For example, there is a scene in which Oribe is scolded by Rikyu as "inexperienced" for his eccentricity, and another in which Rikyu is made to reflect on his own aesthetic sense upon seeing Oribe's avant-garde works. Through these conflicts between the two characters, the work highlights the diversity of aesthetic sense , and the difficulty and preciousness of creating new beauty while respecting tradition. .
Of course, since it is a work of fiction, there are some differences from historical fact. For example, as mentioned above, this work boldly dramatizes the discrepancy in aesthetic sensibilities between Rikyu and Oribe (and Hideyoshi) by linking them to major historical events. However, this dramatization is not merely for entertainment, but is a production to emphasize the ideological and political influence of the culture of tea ceremony. The contrast between the two tea masters, Rikyu and Oribe, is also a contrast between the two major trends in aesthetics of Japanese culture: "wabi" and "suki," and "stillness" and "movement." The term " Hyougemono " ("hyōgemono"), which literally comes from an archaic word meaning "funny person" or "joker," succinctly expresses his personality and aesthetics as an unconventional and humorous innovator. The historical Oribe was also a maverick who displayed extraordinary creativity in the world of tea ceremony, and the portrayal of Oribe in this work has many similarities to the historical figure, including the ending where his innovations eventually clash with the powers of the time. Furuta Oribe's pursuit of his own beauty even in the face of such an absolute giant as Sen no Rikyu shines as a symbol of the dynamism of tradition and innovation in both historical and fictional contexts.
Modern influence and pop culture significance
"Hyouge Mono" has gone beyond the scope of mere historical entertainment and has had a considerable influence on modern culture. First of all, it has increased interest in the tea ceremony and pottery among the younger generation. Some fans have been inspired by the work to start attending tea ceremony classes or even hosting their own tea ceremonies. The work has made a great contribution by making the tea ceremony, which was previously thought of as difficult and old-fashioned, more accessible through the pop medium of manga. Furthermore, the influence of this work on the fields of art and crafts cannot be overlooked. The distorted tea bowls and unusual tea utensils that appear in the work have been re-evaluated, and a movement has emerged in which contemporary potters have taken inspiration from it to attempt the creation of new works. In fact, there have been reports of manga sparking a new boom in appreciation of traditional crafts, such as a special exhibition at a museum that brings together classic masterpieces of Oribe ware. Furthermore, historical tours of places related to the work, known as "Hyougemono Holy Land Pilgrimages," have become popular among fans, and some say they have helped promote tourism in the region. In the educational field, there have been attempts to use "Hyougemono" in school classes to teach the history of the Warring States period and cultural history. It is attracting attention as a learning material that allows you to learn while having fun.
When we look at it this way, we can see that what "Hyouge Mono" has brought to the modern world is not simply "an interesting manga." In a word, this work is a breath of fresh air into traditional culture. The significance of reinterpreting the tea ceremony culture of over 400 years ago in the format of a comedy manga is immeasurable, as it sheds new light on fields such as tea ceremony and pottery, which were previously considered to be from another world, as pop culture. The work is peppered with hints for modern people to rediscover, enjoy, and use the aesthetic sense inherent in Japanese culture as fuel for their creativity.