Goryeo-chawan Based on ‘Kobori Enshu Chakaikishusei’

Abstract

Goryeo-chawan is a general name for Korean tea bowls used in Japanese tea ceremony. There are three major categories of Goryeo-chawan: tea pots chosen from Korean daily life, tea pots made in Korea which were ordered from Japan, and tea pots made by Korean potters who moved to Japan. In this study, we examined the Goryeo-chawan used for Daimyo tea, focusing on the tea ceremony record named ‘Kobori Enshu chakaikishusei’ in the early Edo period. Thirty kinds of Goryeo-chawan were used, and the two tea bowls used most among them are the Totoya and the Ido tea bowls. The tea ceremony of Kobori Enshu can be considered in three stages. In the creation period, Totoya tea bowls and Shima Korean tea bowl were used, with Korean tea bowl, which retained the influence of Senno Rikyu. During the establishment period, the height of bowl stand was slightly high, and the shape was slightly distorted, but there are many elegant tea bowls in design. Since it was time to ensure the dignity of Shogun Tokugawa, they tried to enhance the authority of Daimyo tea by selecting and using the existing Korean tea bowls with sophisticated designs that matched the new era. In latter years, Seto tea bowl was used twice as much as Korean tea bowl, but Goryeo-chawan was often used in Sukiya, which is a space of Wabi tea. The research showed that in the early Edo period, due to the change of the times, Goryeo-chawan had a unique design as a “Kireisabi” tea bowl of Daimyo tea and was honored as a tea bowl suitable for a new era. As a condition, there is a history of connecting Sennorikyu s legitimacy, a little emphasis of the Kairagi on the tea bowl, selecting various designs and unique patterns, and also they assigned the special meaning among the tea bowls to increase their special value.