Tea Ceremony Utensils and the `Wabi' Aesthetic

By Seizo Hayashiya

Tea ensemble Tea bowl: Momoyama period, early 17th century Oribe ware, glazed stoneware Height 6.2 cm, diameter 13.5 cm

Translated by Carol Morland

Although the Momoyama period (1573-1615) spanned less than half a century, it witnessed such a remarkable flowering of the arts that it has achieved special prominence in the cultural history of Japan. The era was dominated by the military rule of the powerful warriors Oda Nobunaga (1534-82) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98). Originally a minor daimyo from a provincial domain, Nobunaga was a great innovator and pragmatist, known for his revolutionary policies and military tactics. He was well on his way to unifying a Japan long wracked by civil wars when he was betrayed by a trusted vassal and died at the age of 49. His quest for unification was taken up by Hideyoshi, a commoner who had become one of Nobunaga's most brilliant generals. The rule of these two military upstarts had an enormous impact on Japanese culture. Not least among the arts affected were those connected with the tea ceremony established by Sen no Rikyu (1522-91). Rikyu was not of high birth, but was a member of the powerful `chonin'(merchant) class from the busiest commercial port in Japan. Having mastered the art of tea at a young age, he devised and disseminated a form of tea ceremony that became the dominant style of the era. This form is called `wabicha' and was based on an aesthetic of discerning simplicity and humbleness (`wabi'). Rikyu possessed the resolute character and deep knowledge of tea of the ideal master, but it is clear that his success was due also to his position as tea master to Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, and to the backing he received from these powerful leaders. For the last decade of his life, Sen no Rikyu was a close confidant of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was actively engaged in affairs of state, but worked at the same time to perfect his own form of tea. While Rikyu was completely dependent upon men of power, the style of tea he established valued plainness and humility - the antithesis of extravagance and power. What is worthy of note is that it was precisely his acknowledged position as foremost tea master in the land that made possible his creation of `wabicha'. Rikyu's tea attracted a number of political and military leaders, from the hegemon Hideyoshi on down, and these men became his students. Rikyu's influence can also be gauged by the fact that among his pupils was Furuta Oribe (1544-1615), who led the tea world after Rikyu's death and played a principal role in shaping the tea ceremony during the latter half of the Momoyama period. Though brief, the foregoing description of the age in which Rikyu lived should provide a useful context for his establishment of `wabicha'. Let us turn now to a closer examination of the tea aesthetic which developed in the Momoyama period, and the differences between Momoyama and contemporary Japanese culture as expressed in tea utensils.

In neither East nor West has the power elite ever been the true driving force of culture. When Hideyoshi commanded Rikyu to commit suicide, the tea master was forced to end his life despite his unrivalled position in the world of tea. Nevertheless, Rikyu's `wabicha' has served as the basis for the development of the tea ceremony over the four centuries since his death. In order to understand the style that he devised, it is important to consider the implements fashioned and selected by the master and the effect achieved when these utensils were used together in the small, humble tearoom that Rikyu favoured. By attempting to recreate the original experience of Rikyu's style of tea, we can perhaps come close to understanding the aesthetic ideals of `wabicha'. Included in the current exhibition `The New Way of Tea' at Japan Society Gallery and the Asia Society Museum, are an Amido-type tea kettle made by the metal-caster Tsuji Yojiro (act. 16th century), a black-lacquer water jar in the shape of a common wooden pail by Yozo (act. 16th century) and a red Raku tea bowl by Chojiro (1516-89). These all display Rikyu's taste in tea implements and were, in fact, commissioned by him for a ceremony conducted in a small, thatched hut-style teahouse. One can sense in these objects a shared aesthetic approach. They all eschew surface decoration, their creation resulting from the pursuit of extreme purity of form. I describe these tea utensils as being deliberately without artifice; in this quality, perhaps, lies the originality of a master deeply imbued with the spirit of Zen Buddhism. In the fifteenth century, a distinctly Japanese aesthetic began to emerge in tea, as the country extricated itself from the Chinese style that had dominated tea taste for 400 years. The aesthetic that guided Rikyu in his choice of utensils can be said to reflect a harmonious combination of this native sensibility and contemporaneous Zen Buddhist precepts. When the implements were placed together in the hut-style teahouse, they acquired new resonance and created an atmosphere of intense quiet characteristic of Rikyu's austere approach. We know that the style of tea ceremony perfected by Rikyu in his last years was born of a profound ideology: he did not view tea as entertainment. A red Raku tea bowl by Chojiro can be seen as embodying the aesthetic of Rikyu's style of tea. Hon'ami Koetsu (1557-1637) was born 35 years after Rikyu into a powerful Kyoto merchant family. One of the most important cultural leaders of the early seventeenth century, he was first and foremost a calligrapher, though he is highly esteemed for his work in various arts. Beginning in 1615, he created hand-formed tea bowls in the style of Chojiro for his own pleasure. Koetsu's bowls, however, are quite different from the Chojiro bowls favoured by Rikyu, being strongly individualistic and more deliberate in effect. Judging from my investigation of Koetsu's work, about thirty of his tea bowls are extant, each one the product of an intensive search for expressive form. The red Raku bowl included in the present exhibition was most likely made towards the end of Koetsu's life, when he was in his seventies (see cover). It may appear clumsily fashioned, but is actually a profoundly elegant work - the soul of the aged artist made manifest. One can sense in this tea bowl a tremendous playfulness and freedom from restraint. It is interesting how distinct Koetsu's tea bowls are from those by Chojiro, despite their similar method of production. The difference in the work of these two artists points directly to the evolution from the `wabicha' style of tea established by Rikyu in the Momoyama period to a freer, more individualistic expression.

Japan has been steeped in European and American culture since the latter part of the nineteenth century. When we take a hard look at Japanese culture, especially the period after World War II, we see a tradition that has been rendered largely hollow. The tea ceremony aesthetic established by Rikyu and developed by his successors still prevails, but while Rikyu transformed an inherited form to accord with the aesthetic of his own time, those involved in tea ceremony today have not attempted to design new utensils that can speak to a contemporary audience. The majority of tea wares in general use are imitations of those made in the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. In my view, few modern pieces express the innovative creativity seen in the work of masters like Rikyu and Koetsu. One artist whose tea bowls are both traditional and cutting-edge and who is working successfully to create a truly contemporary style is the fifteenth-generation Raku master Kichizaemon (b. 1949). He is the present head of the Raku family, which traces its 400-year lineage back to Chojiro. Although successor to one of the most traditional of family businesses, Kichizaemon is a thoroughly modern artist and has produced tea bowls that are extremely daring and challenging. His work is completely different from the uncontrived art of Chojiro, but the unrestrained spirit expressed in his tea bowls brings them close to those of Koetsu. In a society that embraces a multitude of values, the tea ceremony remains a central aspect of the traditional culture of Japan. As such, it merits not only an intense study of its history, but even more importantly, serious inquiry into the form it should take in our own time.