Yoshinoyama Tea Bowl by Rakusai Onishi

Width: 11.7cm Height: 8.1cm

Onishi Rakusai's "Yoshinoyama Tea Bowl" is a masterpiece that depicts the Yoshino mountain range, famous since the Manyo period for its "Thousand Cherry Blossoms," with overlapping pine trees, cherry blossoms, and mountainside, like a picture scroll. By layering verdigris, red clay, and white on top of a pale yellowish white glaze, and then running a brush over gold paint, it creates a landscape that makes it seem as if Mount Yoshino in full bloom in spring is captured in the palm of your hand. Below, we will introduce its charm in detail from five perspectives.

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1. Shape and clay

Three-sided split foot reminiscent of Goki style <br data-start="248" data-end="251">The foot is cut on three sides in a "sakeashi" style, giving a modern refinement to the Goki style originating from Korean rice bowls. It has a good grip and creates a sense of stability when handling it during the tea ceremony.

A neat, bowl-like shape with a full body . The proportions that gently expand from the inside to the rim ensure that the whisk hits the cup evenly and produces beautiful foam.

White glaze with crazing <br data-start="424" data-end="427">The white glaze that covers the entire body is decorated with fine crazing and a pale yellowish hue, creating a soft setting reminiscent of the hazy mountain air in spring.

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2. Design - The Quartet of Mount Yoshino

Senbonzakura Belt <br data-start="528" data-end="531">Cherry blossoms are densely dotted on the upper part of the bowl with white paint and the core is pressed in with gold paint. When you turn the tea bowl around, the cherry blossom belt continues, creating an uninterrupted "cherry blossom cloud" of 1,000 cherry blossoms.

Contrast between old and young pines <br data-start="620" data-end="623">The mountainside is dotted with pine trees whose trunks are painted red and whose leaves are painted verdigris, creating a complementary color relationship with the cherry blossoms and tightening the picture. The lines that emphasize the undulations of the old pines evoke a sense of the timelessness of Mount Yoshino.

Layered colors of the mountain surface <br data-start="715" data-end="718">The layered mountain surface, created by thinly applying three colors - red earth, green earth, and pale yellow - gives the vessel a sense of depth.

Pointillism of Spring Haze <br data-start="781" data-end="784">The speckled splashes of verdigris and ochre suggest pollen and young buds swaying in the spring haze, adding a sense of movement and seasonality.

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3. Techniques - The pinnacle of Kyoto ware color painting

The three-dimensional effect of Shiromori (white raised finish) <br data-start="883" data-end="886">The cherry blossoms are placed thickly using a technique that mainly uses white lead, and a glossy finish is given by re-firing at a low temperature.

Layers of colored paint <br data-start="947" data-end="950">The verdigris and orange paint are applied twice and then fired at different temperatures to ensure depth of color and durability.

Fine lines drawn in gold paint <br data-start="1011" data-end="1014">Extremely fine lines of gold paint are drawn on the core of the cherry blossoms and the veins of the pine needles, enhancing their elegance and dignity.

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4. Functional beauty at the tea ceremony

Matcha stands out <br data-start="1086" data-end="1089">The inside is a plain white glaze, against which the green of the matcha stands out brightly. The comb-like crazing casts gentle shadows on the tea surface, evoking the mist of the spring mountains.

Storytelling Stage <br data-start="1160" data-end="1163">As the tea bowl is turned, the scenery changes from cherry blossoms to pine trees to the mountainside, allowing the host to deepen his conversation with his guests by incorporating anecdotes related to Yoshino, such as "Yoshitsune's Hidden Tower" and "Saigyo's Cherry Blossoms."

Seasonal Applicability <br data-start="1243" data-end="1246">Although it is a design of cherry blossoms, it also features pine trees, making it suitable for use not only in spring but also in the seasons of fresh greenery and autumn leaves, making it an excellent piece that can be easily combined all year round.

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5. Cultural background and modernity

Ever since the Kokinshu, Mount Yoshino has been the subject of numerous poems and picture scrolls as a mountain of cherry blossoms and faith. While keeping this classical image in mind, this work has been reconstructed in a modern way with a trio of white porcelain, verdigris, and gold paint, giving it a lightness that stands out in modern tea ceremonies. While inheriting the lineage of "kirei sabi," Onishi Rakusai has skillfully blended the simplicity of the earth with the blooming of colored paintings to create a new Yoshino picture scroll that bridges the past and the present.

The fragrant cherry blossoms blooming in the white-glazed spring haze, the green of the majestically standing pine trees, and the reddish-brown of the sunlight that paints the mountainside - Onishi Rakusai's Yoshinoyama tea bowl is as if the very image of the "mountain welcoming spring" had been condensed into the vessel. If placed at a tea ceremony, guests will enjoy a cup of matcha while feeling the faint floral fragrance, and their thoughts will be transported to the distant Yoshino. This is an exquisite bowl that combines function and speech, wabi and elegance.

A conversation with Rakusai Onishi