In our previous blog, we introduced the world of ceramics that supports modern cutting-edge technology. This time, let us take a journey into the history of ceramic vessels, which are deeply rooted in our lifestyle and spiritual culture. Although born in the same East Asian region, pottery and porcelain evolved in completely different directions depending on the country, era, and differences in aesthetic values. Hidden within this history is a dramatic narrative of how Japanese vessels, once completely ignored by the West, have transformed into world-class, premium masterpieces in the modern era.

In Japan, there are six representative historic kiln sites known as the "Six Ancient Kilns" (Bizen, Tanba, Shigaraki, Tokoname, Echizen, and Seto) that have continued uninterrupted since the Heian and Muromachi periods. Most of the pottery from these six ancient kilns did not rely on artificial painting or glassy glazes; instead, they expressed the very workings of Mother Nature through a method called muyū-yakishime (unglazed high-firing), baking the clay using only earth and fire. They harbor a natural energy beyond human control, such as accidental stains formed by wood ash falling inside the kiln, and distorted shapes caused by the fierce heat of the flames. It was Japanese tea masters, most notably Sen no Rikyu, who found the ultimate spirituality within this imperfect beauty. Rather than symmetrical, flawless vessels, they deliberately favored distorted Japanese pottery that embodied the harshness of nature and the sense of impermanence, elevating them to the center stage of the Way of Tea.

However, when the era shifted to the Age of Discovery in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and European merchants flooded into Asia, the global evaluation was entirely different. At that time, what the European royalty and aristocracy—who led the world—desperately sought was not the earthen vessels loved by Japanese tea masters, but Chinese porcelain. It was smooth, thin, strong, translucent, and highly functional, allowing for neat stacking rather than emphasizing spirituality. From the perspective of Europeans at the time, thick and distorted Japanese pottery was nothing more than an unrefined failure, lacking any appeal as a commercial trade good. Consequently, Japanese pottery of this era was never exported to Europe. On the other hand, the porcelain produced by China’s overwhelming technology, particularly from Jingdezhen, was hailed as "white gold" and exported for astronomical sums, boasting immense popularity as a status symbol to decorate palaces.

Centuries later, in the modern era, a dramatic tectonic shift has occurred in the values assigned to these vessels. Throughout the world, including the West, the Eastern philosophy of Zen, minimalism, and the aesthetics of wabi-sabi have become deeply understood and respected. For modern people who are surrounded by uniform, perfect, mass-produced goods resulting from advanced industrialization, the old, distorted, and unstackable Japanese tea bowls and utensils—once dismissed by Europeans as undesirable—have come to be viewed as supreme works of art that provide spiritual enrichment. Japanese teaware, once written off for its irrational shapes, is now evaluated as unique sculptures where the energy of nature and the soul of the artisan fuse together. Today, they fetch astonishingly high prices at international auctions and are exported to collectors worldwide.

I believe that both the rationality of Chinese porcelain, with its perfect beauty and functionality, and the spiritual rationality of Japanese pottery, which embraces nature and values the sensation of fitting comfortably in one's hands, are wonderful in their own right, depending on each individual's values. However, as an individual and a parishioner of a Zen Buddhist temple (Rinzai sect), I personally feel a profound value in this spiritual rationality compared to mere functionality. After all, I cannot help but love the identity woven by Japanese culture and the historical stories behind it. The next time you hold a vessel in your hands, why not pause for a moment and reflect quietly on the centuries of history hidden behind its form?