Wabi, a taste for imperfection

Korean tea bowls such as Shibata came to be desired and loved by the Japanese tea masters because of their simple and rustic appearance.

A taste for the simple and the imperfect developed in the context of the tea ceremony in the 15th century in opposition to previous traditions of tea drinking, which took place in an atmosphere of luxury and often involved the use of valuable objects from China. The tea master Murata Jukō (村田珠光 1423–1502) started performing tea ceremonies in a natural and secluded setting utilizing modest objects. His beliefs regarding the tea ceremony were beautifully summarized in his statement that “A moon without clouds is disappointing” 月も雲間のなきは嫌にて候. With this, he meant to convey the idea that beauty is seen at its best when partially hidden and imperfect, like a moon slightly covered by a cloudy sky.

Later in the development of the tea ceremony at the end of the 16th century, the famous tea master Sen no Rikyū(千利休 1522 – 1591) stated that Korean tea bowls possessed the element of wabi

Wabi is a Japanese ideal developed in the 12th and 13th century by hermit poets, which literally meant “to be wretched”, or “to be poor”. This ideal was implemented into the tea ceremony for the first time in the 16th century by the tea master Takeno Jōō (武野 紹鴎 1502–1555), and was materially expressed through the preference of rustic, humble and imperfect objects. The ideal of wabi was carried on by Sen no Rikyū, who implemented wabi into every aspect of the tea ceremony. [cf]

We can see how Shibata fits into the aesthetic of wabicha. The simple earthenware body is covered with a faint yellow glaze, a color called biwairo 枇杷色 in Japanese,the color of the loquat fruit. The color of the glaze is not uniform throughout the bowl’s body, and there is a blue tinge in certain areas. Other various characteristics contribute to the bowl’s “imperfect” appearance, for example the glaze presents a pattern of cracks, as well as marks left by the turning of the potter's wheel, known as rokurokume 轆轤目, and herame 箆目, marks left by the potter's spatula. Finally, round spots can be seen both on the bowl’s foot and in its center which were caused by the glaze sticking bowls together when they were fired while stacked on top of each other, which are known as meato 目跡..