Shibata, the perfect imperfect tea bowl

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.