The traditional Mino pottery styles of Shino, Oribe, Yellow Seto and Black Seto have been the pride of the Japanese ceramic world since the Momoyama Period (1568-1615). However, Mino pottery just isn't what it used to be. Gone are its chadogu (tea wares) days of the 17th-19th century, when it was used to serve local lords and wealthy merchants. Gone, too, are the times it was favored to serve 20th-century lady students of tea.
What, then, is the Mino pottery world up to in the 21st century? Well, it's an energetic maze of "anything goes," and in addition to a few surviving stalwart chadogu potters, we find works in clay across the whole gamut of artistic forms.
What defines Mino these days is on view at the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, in its ambitious "Mino Ceramics NOW 2004" exhibition that runs through Dec. 15 and features the works of about 120 potters.