Ido bowls were made on the Korean peninsula and are the representative type among the Korean bowls used in Japanese tea. They began as ordinary domestic vessels and were identified by Japanese practitioners as embodiments of wabi. A commanding shape, plain clay, and a strong foot ring are the focus of appreciation.
The name is said to come from likening the deep interior to the surface of water in a well (ido).
History
Ido bowls are Joseon-dynasty wares, and Japanese practitioners selecting them as tea bowls raised them to the highest rank of vessel for thick tea. Named examples survive, and warlords and later connoisseurs competed to own them. From Rikyu through to Enshu they remained the leading type of formal bowl.
Why it matters
The Ido bowl is the clearest case of mitate — seeing a new use in an ordinary object — operating at the highest level of value. Nothing about the bowl was made for tea; the entire standing of the type rests on an act of recognition.
Sources
- 井戸茶碗（ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 / 日本大百科全書） / コトバンク
Supports: 井戸茶碗が李朝時代（1392〜1910）初期から中期にかけて朝鮮半島で焼かれた高麗茶碗の一種であること。本来は現地で民衆の日用雑器として作られたものが「わび」の美意識に適う茶碗として見立てられたこと。安土桃山時代には「一井戸二楽三唐津」と称され茶器として最高の扱いを受けたこと
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
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Related terms
- Chawan (tea bowl)chawan
The bowl in which tea is whisked and drunk — usually the most closely examined object in a gathering.
- Raku chawan (Raku tea bowl)raku chawan
Hand-formed, low-fired bowls made by the Raku family of Kyoto; the emblem of the tea Rikyu aimed at.
- Kuro Raku chawan (black Raku bowl)kuro raku chawan
Black-glazed Raku bowls, the most formal of the type, which set off the deep green of thick tea.
- Aka Raku chawan (red Raku bowl)aka raku chawan
Raku bowls with a soft reddish body under a clear glaze; warmer in feeling and suited to spring.
- Hakeme chawan (brushed-slip bowl)hakeme chawan
Korean-lineage bowls where white slip is brushed on and the brush strokes are left as the decoration.