Theory of Art Creation 27 "The Aesthetics of Furuta Oribe"
The aesthetics of Furuta Oribe
The world of "Hyougemono" is a novel and daring work born from the provocative spirit of "doing things differently from others." When talking about the history of Japanese tea ceremony, there is one person with an "exceptional individuality" that cannot be left out. That person is Furuta Oribe. His real name was Shigenari Furuta, and he was a military commander and tea master from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the early Edo period, as well as an artist who also demonstrated his talents in architecture and garden design. While based on the "wabi-cha" tea perfected by Sen no Rikyu, he boldly overturned the aesthetic sense of stillness, astringency, and withering, and incorporated the beauty of "movement" in the form of a great fad known as "Oribe-gyo." While Furuta Oribe's innovations were spectacular, he also clashed with the authorities in the end, and met a tragic end when he was ordered to commit seppuku. However, his reverberations live on to this day as the "Oribe-ryu" or in the form of Oribe ware and Oribe tea utensils. In this article, we will explore the life of Furuta Oribe as a military commander and tea master, and the origins of his aesthetic sense and how his creativity was expressed.
1. Furuta Oribe as a military commander - Overcoming the rough waves of the Sengoku to Azuchi-Momoyama periods
1-1. Born in Mino Province, he rose through the ranks while serving Nobunaga
Furuta Oribe (Shigenari, Shigeteru) is thought to have been born in Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture) in Tenbun 12 (1543) or Tenbun 13 (1544). His father, Shigesada (Kan'ami), is said to have also been knowledgeable in the tea ceremony, and it is possible that he passed on some knowledge of the art of suki to his son, Shigenari.
However, the young Sasuke (Furuta Oribe's childhood name) did not immediately take up the tea ceremony. Rather, he began his career as a military commander, and served under Oda Nobunaga after his conquest of Mino. In the 1570s, he was appointed magistrate of Yamashiro Province (present-day Kyoto Prefecture), demonstrating a certain degree of military achievement and political skill. When his brother-in-law, Nakagawa Kiyohide, a local lord in Settsu, sided with Araki Murashige in the rebellion (the Battle of Arioka Castle), he persuaded Kiyohide to return to the Oda side, steadily building his reputation as a military commander.
1-2. Serving Hideyoshi and being appointed as "Oribesuke"
After Oda Nobunaga was defeated in the Honnoji Incident (1582), Furuta Oribe served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He participated in the Battle of Shizugatake (1583), the subjugation of Shikoku, and the subjugation of Kyushu, and after achieving a certain level of military merit, he gained Hideyoshi's trust and was appointed Oribe no Suke (Junior Fifth Rank) in 1585. From this point on, the names "Furuta Oribe" and "Oribe Masa" became widely known.
It is said that he was also included in the "Otogishu", the group that served as Hideyoshi's bedside companions, and he came to be highly regarded as a refined military commander who was treated with great kindness by Hideyoshi .
1-3. From Sekigahara to the Establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate: The Rulers of Japan Return to Service
After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, politics came to be led by the Five Elders and Five Commissioners, but Tokugawa Ieyasu rose to power in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, eventually establishing the Edo Shogunate. Furuta Oribe sided with the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara, and was awarded 10,000 koku after the war for his success, establishing his status as a daimyo. He was further selected as the tea ceremony instructor for the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada , and rose to the position of being what could be called the shogunate's official tea master. As the "head tea master" who garnered passionate support from Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Hidetada, he grew to have a major influence on daimyo throughout the country.
1-4. Suspicion and a brutal end: Ordered to commit seppuku by Tokugawa Ieyasu
However, the situation changed dramatically during the Siege of Osaka in 1614-1615. Furuta Oribe's vassals and son were suspected of conspiring with the Toyotomi side and planning to set fire to Kyoto and attack the Tokugawa army. Although the truth of the matter is unclear, the shogunate considered this a serious crime and, after the fall of Osaka Castle, on June 11, 1615 (1615) , Furuta Oribe was ordered to commit seppuku at his residence in Fushimi. He did not offer a single word of explanation and passed away at the age of 73. Perhaps the Edo shogunate could not accept the possibility that Oribe, who had such innovative sensibilities and an extensive network of contacts, could have been in league with the Toyotomi side.
2. The Path of Tea Master Furuta Oribe - Sen no Rikyu's Advice to "Do Something Different"
2-1. A late debut in tea ceremony and the "Seven Philosophies of Rikyu"
Although Oribe had already achieved success as a military commander, his first tea ceremony appearance was around 1583 (Tensho 11), when he was around 40 years old, and his name finally appears in historical documents. This is why he is said to be a late bloomer. Despite this, his master Sen no Rikyu taught him to "do something different from others," and he embodied this advice brilliantly. As a result, he was counted as one of the " Seven Philosophers of Rikyu ," and he quickly rose to prominence alongside fellow disciples such as Maeda Toshiie, Hosokawa Tadaoki, and Gamo Ujisato.
2-2. The master-disciple relationship with Rikyu: A deep respect that never faded until the end
Just before Sen no Rikyu was forced to commit seppuku (1591) due to his conflict with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, many of his students distanced themselves from him out of fear of Hideyoshi. However, it is said that only Furuta Oribe and Hosokawa Tadaoki saw Rikyu off with dignity, and even pleaded for his life afterwards. For Oribe, Rikyu was not just a teacher, but the spiritual pillar of the tea ceremony itself. Rikyu's "wabi tea" was a philosophy of tranquility and harmony, and by leaving behind the words "do things differently from others," Oribe set out on the path to creating an innovative style that was not in Rikyu's style.
2-3. After Rikyu's death, he became the "greatest tea master in the world" - Establishing the tea ceremony for samurai
After Rikyu's death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi sought a new tea ceremony suitable for the samurai society, in addition to Rikyu's wabi-cha, the "tea of the townspeople." Oribe was given special treatment in this endeavor.
Oribe himself, as a feudal lord, had a good understanding of the sensibilities and rituals of the samurai class, and developed the previously private and introverted wabi-cha into "public tea" and "ceremonial tea." Thus was born the " Oribe-style " samurai tea ceremony, which, while inheriting the spirit of Sen no Rikyu, reached its heyday with its bold, original, free and open-minded style.
3. The Innovation of "Oribe Style" - Unprecedented Artistry in Tea Utensils, Architecture, and Garden Design
3-1. The birth of Oribe ware -- distortion, irregularity, and bold painting
Oribe is most famous for his Oribe ware. He instructed the potters of Mino and produced many innovative pieces by intentionally incorporating distorted shapes and irregularities (deliberate imbalance). His works, such as the green glazed Blue Oribe, the black-toned Black Oribe, and the extremely distorted Kutsugata tea bowl, were all shockingly avant-garde for the sensibilities of the time. His perspective of breaking symmetry and intentionally shifting shapes to create a sense of discomfort as beauty is the true essence of Oribe's taste.
3-2. Breaking a tea bowl and then inheriting it?! The extreme spirit of "Hyougemono"
Among the handed-down tea bowls is the "Oido Tea Bowl, inscribed "Sumi" and inscribed "Jumonji" (Cross-shape), which has the anecdote that Oribe "split the bowl into a cross shape and then re-glued it together." Breaking the bowl itself is connected to the aesthetic sense of "Waritaka" (a high price) and "Kintsugi" (gold lacquer), but the act of intentionally cutting and shortening it is no easy feat.
These unconventional ideas were the reason why they were later called "Hyougemono" (Hyougemono = funny things, eccentric people). Unlike the wabi-sabi perfected by Sen no Rikyu and the imperfection of nature, Oribe's greatest characteristic is his pursuit of dynamic beauty born from the deliberate "disintegration" and "destruction."
3-3. “Dynamic beauty” in teahouses and gardens: multi-window teahouses and geometrical composition
Oribe applied his unique aesthetic sense not only to his pottery, but also to his tea houses and gardens . For example, his tea house had 13 windows to increase the amount of light, and his garden featured a bold, straight stone bridge, which was a stark contrast to the "wabi" gardens that had been used up until that point, which blended into the natural landscape.
Multi-window tea rooms such as the Yabuuchi family's "Ennan" and "Hassouan" are known as examples that symbolize Oribe's tastes. Unlike the style of Rikyu and Kobori Enshu, who preferred dark, tranquil spaces, Oribe increased the amount of light and enjoyed a dynamic presentation - this was the new style that Oribe introduced to tea rooms.
4. Furuta Oribe-style tea ceremony: style and spirit as "tea ceremony of the samurai class"
4-1. Official and ceremonial tea ceremony: from the narrow hermitage to the spacious shoin space
The "private wabi-cha" cultivated by Sen no Rikyu and Takeno Jōō was a style that valued intensive time spent with a small number of people in a small thatched hut. In contrast, Furuta Oribe placed emphasis on large shoin-style tea rooms that could accommodate a larger number of guests as tea halls for feudal lords and the shogunate, and established the tea ceremony as a "public tea" and a "samurai ritual."
A major feature of the "Oribe style" is that the tea ceremony and utensil arrangement are performed in a space of four and a half tatami mats or more, rather than in a tiny tea room of less than three tatami mats. While respecting the formality of a public event, an aesthetic sense is seen in adding "movement" and "gaiety" when necessary.
4-2. "Don't pass the same bowl around" - Cleanliness and how to handle utensils
The Oribe school is famous for its unique rule of "not passing around the same tea bowl when drinking, whether it is thick or thin tea." This is interpreted as an emphasis on "cleanliness" and "etiquette" from the perspective of official samurai society. There are also other small details, such as not placing utensils directly on the tatami mat, but carrying them on a tray, cleaning the hands with a towel before the tea ceremony, and distinguishing between the fukusa used to wipe the utensils and the fukusa used to wipe the base. The motto of the Oribe school was to value fresh beauty and dignified ceremonies , in contrast to the simple and sturdy "wabi" cultivated by Sen no Rikyu.
4-3. A huge boom that swept through feudal lords, nobles, temples and shrines across the country
Furuta Oribe was not only Toyotomi Hideyoshi's tea master, but also Tokugawa Hidetada's instructor, and many of the powerful feudal lords of the time, including Date Masamune, Hosokawa Tadaoki, Ueda Soko, and Kanamori Karishige, learned tea from Oribe. The Konoe family of nobles, Emperor Goyozei, and even the monks of famous temples in Kyoto were all devoted to Oribe's tea. He organized a pottery group in Mino that produced extraordinary shapes, and was involved not only in tea bowls and tea utensils, but also in garden design and architecture... It was Oribe who literally reached the "pinnacle of sukiya" around the beginning of the Keicho era.
5. A turbulent final period: The Battle of Osaka and suspicions of collusion
5-1. Was there really “collusion” with Toyotomi?
During the Winter Siege of Osaka in 1614 (Keicho 19), and the Summer Siege of 1615, Oribe's retainers were arrested on suspicion of "arson plots" in collaboration with Toyotomi Hideyori. They are said to have remained silent even after being tortured, but evidence emerged from a different route that was deemed "irrefutable," and eventually Oribe himself was suspected of conspiring with Toyotomi.
In fact, it is highly possible that Oribe felt indebted to the Toyotomi family. It is also said that he was a peace advocate and tried to unite the Tokugawa and Toyotomi families, and some research suggests that this actually aroused Ieyasu's suspicions. Either way, it is unclear whether there was any conclusive evidence of betrayal.
5-2. Why did he not explain himself? - Until he committed seppuku
After the fall of Osaka Castle, Oribe was suspected of being a collusion at his own residence in Fushimi, and was ordered to commit seppuku on June 11th without being allowed to explain himself. He died at the age of 73. His son, relatives, and many of his elder retainers were also implicated, and the Furuta family was wiped out. It is said that he did not leave a single word of explanation. It is not clear from the documents whether he was actually involved in the plot or simply accepted his fate . However, just as Sen no Rikyu refused to submit to Hideyoshi and accepted his death, Oribe also vanished into the darkness without revealing his true intentions.
5-3. The deaths of the surviving retainers and sons, and the extinction of the Furuta clan
In the early Edo period, with the shogunate and feudal domain system in place, there was probably no room for a "rebellious tea master" to live. Four of Oribe's sons committed suicide or were beheaded, and many of his retainers were executed, leading to the near-annihilation of the Furuta clan.
However, daughters, female descendants, and collateral lines (such as the line of Furuta Shigetsugu, who served the Nakagawa family of Bungo Oka Domain) continued uninterrupted, continuing the "Oribe bloodline" to future generations.
6. The "Oribe Spirit" After That - The Present State of Oribe Style and Oribe Ware
6-1. Later Evaluation: Sealed off during the Edo Period, Reevaluated after the Meiji Period
Due in part to the purge of Furuta Oribe, the name Oribe tended to be considered taboo under the Edo Shogunate for a long time. While Sen no Rikyu was deified, Oribe's bold unconventional style was not publicly praised, being seen as the legacy of a "rebel against the state." However, as the feudal system collapsed from the end of the Edo period through to the Meiji period, potters such as Kitaoji Rosanjin and Kawakita Handeishi were inspired by Oribe ware to create new works, and Oribe's creative philosophy was rediscovered. In the mid-Showa period, there was a growing voice among researchers and pottery fans that "Japan's avant-garde began with Oribe."
6-2. Oribe-style tea ceremony, handed down in Chiba and Kyoto, is also an intangible cultural asset
Meanwhile, in terms of the tea ceremony, the "Oribe School," which inherited the style of Furuta Oribe, was passed down mainly in samurai societies such as the Fukuoka and Chofu domains. From the late Edo period to the Meiji period, it spread to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Chiba, and several Oribe schools, such as the Shikimasa Oribe School and the Fuso Oribe School, are still active today.
The "Formal Oribe Style Tea Ceremony," which was passed down in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, was designated an Intangible Cultural Property of Chiba Prefecture in 1955 (Showa 30), and continues to convey the spirit of Oribe as a samurai tea ceremony to this day.
6-3. Oribe ware alive in the modern age: new creations born from distortion and boldness
In the world of pottery, Oribe's ideas have been heavily adopted by the idea of finding beauty not only in "natural-looking distortions" but also in "intentionally deformed shapes." Oribe ware is also highly regarded overseas as a type of "Japanese abstract art," and even today contemporary potters continue to challenge themselves with Oribe ware. Kato Tokuro even commented that "Rikyu found beauty in nature, but he did not create it. Oribe was the one who 'created' beauty." As he says, his imagination, which transformed distortions and eccentricities into the greatest appeal, continues to influence the present day, transcending time and borders.
Summary: A free and open aesthetic born from "doing things differently"
While based on Sen no Rikyu's "wabi," Furuta Oribe thoroughly implemented the idea of "daring to break, destroy, and bend." His tea bowls are filled with bold distortions and geometric patterns, and his tea rooms and gardens are imbued with a unique sense of dynamism. Even though he was given the formal and ceremonial framework of samurai tea ceremony, he still believed in his master's words "do something different from others," and fulfilled his own artistic potential -- this "supernatural" nature is what makes Oribe so appealing. However, his excessive freedom may have ultimately led to him being viewed as a danger by the political establishment. The tragic ending, in which he was suspected during the Siege of Osaka and forced to commit seppuku, cast a dark shadow over the history of tea ceremony. Nevertheless, the ideas passed down as the Oribe school and Oribe ware continue to present us with aesthetic values full of unique adventurousness. Not content with the word "tradition," Furuta Oribe pioneered new forms of beauty through provocation and disruption -- perhaps his aesthetics teach us the boldness that can reconstruct a "world that was once thought to be complete," and the preciousness of unexpected creativity. The source of energy that always creates "interestingness that is different from anywhere else" is the essence that Oribe left behind.