Korean ceramic bowl Shibata
The bowl is made of earthenware , covered by a yellow glaze with a blue tinge, presenting a pattern of cracks. The bowl is known by its individual name, “Shibata”. Shibata was used during tea ceremonies in a specific way, that of “wabicha”, the tea of wretchedness. This style of tea ceremony was popular amongst samurai lords, and in fact Shibata was owned by the famous warrior lords Oda Nobunaga and Katsuie Shibata. Today it is part of the collection of the Nezu Museum in Tokyo and is considered a National Treasure of Japan.
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Shibata, the perfect imperfect tea bowl
story by Francesca Gammino.Korean bowls were first smuggled, and then legally imported into Japan, where they were popular for their imperfect and rustic appearance and became treasured possessions of tea masters and warrior lords. Shibata was one such object, and this story will explore how it embodies in its materiality the ideals of “wabicha”,the tea of wretchedness, and how it was immersed in a context of samurai politics.