It is not often that such a rare and wonderfully varied collection is put on public view as that currently at the Seikado Bunko Art Museum. This special exhibition, from the permanent collection of the museum, is on display for the first time since 1994.

Korean imogashira water jar

The show presents 97 pieces of Korean ceramics, including celadon, white and blue-and-white porcelain and punch'ong stoneware ranging in age from the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392) to the Yi Dynasty (1392-1910).

The exhibition has many highlights, among which are the exquisite tea bowls known as Korai chawan, exported from Korea between the 16th and 18th centuries for use in Japanese tea ceremonies. Japanese tea masters favored these bowls for their simplicity and subtleness, qualities that are essential to the wabi-cha tea ceremony. Wabi-cha, associated with the school of Sen no Rikyu, calls for the removal of anything ostentatious, replacing decorative items with simple pieces, and the enactment of the tea ceremony in rustic, thatch-roofed teahouses. The Korai chawan were a perfect match for this aesthetic, displaying pure lines and a truly understated sense of elegance.

While many Korai chawan were made in Kyungsang Province, whose ports lay closest to Japan, they were also produced in other provinces of the southern Korean Peninsula, in places such as Ch'ungch'ong and Cholla provinces.

According to the historical text "Sejong Silok Chiriji (Geography in the Annals of King Sejong)" of 1454, at the time there were 324 government-supervised ceramic kilns in operation on the Korean Peninsula.

Gosho-maru tea bowl

The Korai chawan in this exhibition include several highly prized pieces, among them a gosho-maru tea bowl. Named after the ships that ran a trade route between Japan and Korea from the 16th century, these bowls were made in the 17th century and very few remain in existence. The gosho-maru tea bowl here (designated an important cultural property by the Japanese government) has an undercoat of white slip (liquid clay) and a second layer of black slip applied with a brush, allowing the white slip to show only at the front of the bowl, the foot and along the inner lip. The strong contrast between white and black enhances the sensation of color in the bright green tea served in the tea ceremony.

The wabi-cha aesthetic, which prizes imperfection, is displayed in the slightly "off-round" shape of the body of the vessel, and in the rough-cut hexagonal facets around its hip, which are typical of the gosho-maru style and reminiscent of the shape of a tortoise shell.

Not only does the exhibition have a full complement of rare tea bowls, it also features ceramic utensils including water jars, flower vases and dishes used in the tea ceremony.

Ceramic water jars from Korea, China and Vietnam were prized in Japan for their beauty. These water jars are used in the tea ceremony to hold the water for rinsing tea bowls after use and to replenish the steaming water drawn from the iron kettle during the ceremony.

One water jar of the imogashira type on display at the museum draws its name from its shape, similar to the Japanese satoimo (taro). Among the outstanding features of these jars are characters inscribed vertically into the surface and repeated stamped rows of dots that form a "rope curtain" design. The imogashira water jar on display in the exhibit is made of punch'ong stoneware, a term that literally means "powder green" and dates to the 15th century. Punch'ong stoneware uses white slip and glaze similar to its cousin, celadon ware, although it is typically more simply decorated. The characters inscribed on this piece spell out the words Koryong-insubu, the name of the Korean government office in Kyungsang Province in charge of production between 1418 to 1455. Such labels were akin to trademarks, guaranteeing that the pieces had been produced by an official kiln for use by royalty.

The popularity of wabi-cha tea ceremonies from the 16th century ensured the continued admiration of Korean ceramics in Japan, and greatly influenced the production of ceramics here. This exhibition provides an unparalleled opportunity to glimpse that aesthetic world.

The Seikado Bunko Art Museum is the former suburban estate of the Iwasaki family, which founded the Mitsubishi trading and industrial group. The second and third heads of Mitsubishi, Yanosuke and Koyata Iwasaki, were dedicated and knowledgeable art collectors, and their collection, which includes a number of national treasures and important cultural properties, is now housed here and forms the basis of the exhibitions. Today, the verdant, peaceful surroundings of the museum bely its urban location and transport visitors to another place and time.