dannon rhudy on wed 10 aug 05
Morgan Pitelka's explication of the Japan/Korean
conflicts is extremely interesting and informative.
I particularly find his suggestion that "tea bowls/
tea" were only a footnote in this most damaging
war to be pertinent.
It is always helpful to have someone with in-depth
knowlege share with the list.
Thank you, Morgan. You give a lot to this
list in terms of information - and you ain't even
a potter!!
regards
Dannon Rhudy
Lee Love on wed 10 aug 05
Marcia Selsor wrote:
>So Lee, What is the story about the Korean/Japanese Pottery Wars from
>the middle Ages? It is difficult to find info about it.
>About 25 years ago I had a student do a research paper on it.
>Basically, the story was that the Korean Potters were kidnapped by
>the Japanese in order to bring the craft to Japan. Do you have any
>insight about this story?
>
The Toyotomi Hideyoshi Government invaded the Korean Peninsula.
Thee two wars were called "Bunroku" and "Keicho" (A.C. 1592 and 1597),
and are sometimes called the "Pottery Wars." Sen No Rikyu, to
formalizer of chanoyu and the promoter of wabicha (simple, natural, tea
ceremony) brought Korean pottery to the attention of Hideyoshi. At
this time, Tea Masters served as political advisers to Generals and
other leaders of the country. Rikyu served both Nobunaga and
Hideyoshi.. A good movie on Rikyu was made by the flower arrangement
master,( Son of the founder and grand master (/Iemoto/) of the Sogetsu
School of Ikebana), Hiroshi Teshigahara titled "Rikyu." My first home
was in the neighborhood of Sakai where Rikyu was from, so I have an
affinity for him. Hideyoshi eventually ordered Rikyu to kill himself.
Through these two wars, Korean potters were
brought to Japan by feudal lords of Kyushu and made to produce
pottery. .The technical knowledge and skill of the Korean potters let
to a boom in pottery in both quality and the lowering of its price.
The Korean kickwheel was introduced to Japan. Until then, they only
used handwheels in Japan. The climbing kiln was introduced too, which
probably help bring about the end of the new kilns in Mino and the end
of Shino's short production life (peace might have helped too: The
Mino potters, who were moved to Hideyoshi's home prefecture at Mino
because of warring happening in Seto, probably moved back to Seto after
the unification of Japan.) Before the noborigama, there really wasn't
ceramic tableware for the average person in Japan. Common people used
lacquer. Ceramics were used for storage containers, ceremonial use
including tea, and for fireproof things like oil lamp drip plates.
--
Lee Love
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://seisokuro.blogspot.com/ My Photo Logs
"The way we are, we are members of each other. All of us. Everything.
The difference ain't in who is a member and who is not, but in who knows it and who don't."
-- Burley Coulter (Wendell Berry)
Marcia Selsor on wed 10 aug 05
WOW Lee!!
Thank you so much. It had been at least 25 years since my student's
paper. And more recently I had wondered more about it. Thanks again.
That was most informative.
Marcia
On Aug 10, 2005, at 6:12 AM, Lee Love wrote:
>>
> The Toyotomi Hideyoshi Government invaded the Korean Peninsula.
> Thee two wars were called "Bunroku" and "Keicho" (A.C. 1592 and 1597),
> and are sometimes called the "Pottery Wars." Sen No Rikyu, to
> formalizer of chanoyu and the promoter of wabicha (simple, natural,
> tea
> ceremony) brought Korean pottery to the attention of
> Hideyoshi. At
> this time, Tea Masters served as political advisers to Generals and
> other leaders of the country. Rikyu served both Nobunaga and
> Hideyoshi.. A good movie on Rikyu was made by the flower
> arrangement
> master,( Son of the founder and grand master (/Iemoto/) of the Sogetsu
> School of Ikebana), Hiroshi Teshigahara titled "Rikyu." My first
> home
> was in the neighborhood of Sakai where Rikyu was from, so I have an
> affinity for him. Hideyoshi eventually ordered Rikyu to kill
> himself.
>
> Through these two wars, Korean potters were
> brought to Japan by feudal lords of Kyushu and made to produce
> pottery. .The technical knowledge and skill of the Korean potters let
> to a boom in pottery in both quality and the lowering of its price.
> The Korean kickwheel was introduced to Japan. Until then, they only
> used handwheels in Japan. The climbing kiln was introduced too,
> which
> probably help bring about the end of the new kilns in Mino and the end
> of Shino's short production life (peace might have helped too: The
> Mino potters, who were moved to Hideyoshi's home prefecture at Mino
> because of warring happening in Seto, probably moved back to Seto
> after
> the unification of Japan.) Before the noborigama, there really
> wasn't
> ceramic tableware for the average person in Japan. Common people
> used
> lacquer. Ceramics were used for storage containers, ceremonial use
> including tea, and for fireproof things like oil lamp drip plates.
>
> --
> Lee Love
> in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
> http://seisokuro.blogspot.com/ My Photo Logs
>
> "The way we are, we are members of each other. All of us. Everything.
> The difference ain't in who is a member and who is not, but in who
> knows it and who don't."
>
> -- Burley Coulter (Wendell Berry)
>
Vince Pitelka on wed 10 aug 05
This is something that has always interested me, and I wanted to ask my son
about it. I appreciate what Lee wrote, and forwarded that to Morgan.
Here's what Morgan had to say about it.
- Vince
Response from Morgan Pitelka:
The most common terms for the 16th century conflict between Japan and Korea
are not "Bunroku" and "Keicho," which are simply the Japanese reign years
for that period. Instead, Japanese historians
usually talk about "Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea," while Korean historians
refer to this conflict as the Imjin Wars (1592-1598). These names are still
hotly contested issues in East Asia, particularly considering the history of
Japan's later brutal occupation of Korea as a colony from 1910 to 1945.
Korean historians estimate that more than 120,000 Koreans died in the Imjin
Wars. For me, the fact that this was an aggressive invasion that destroyed
the Choson Korean economy, destabilized the political
and social systems, and ultimately brought about the collapse of the Ming
Dynasty in China (the armies of the Ming ended up saving the Koreans, with a
little help from the sudden death of Hideyoshi) makes
the acquisition of potters and ceramics a rather minor footnote. At the very
least it does a disservice to Korean history to call this the "teabowl
wars."
On the whole though, Lee is quite right that warlords and other tea
practitioners and collectors became interested in Korean ceramics for the
first time in the late 16th century, and therefore took advantage
of the "opportunity" afforded by the Imjin Wars to seize loot and either
kidnap or invite potters to return to Japan. This certainly did introduce
new ceramic designs, techniques, and technology into Japan. Unfortunately
the incredible cost to Korea is rarely acknowledged or discussed openly, and
is certainly ignored by tea practitioners when they admire the Korea tea
bowls in Japanese collections that may have been acquired during this tragic
conflict.
A good recent history of the conflict is Stephen Turnbull, Samurai Invasion:
Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598 (Cassell, 2002).
Morgan
*****************
Morgan Pitelka
History and Asian Studies
Occidental College
1600 Campus Road
Los Angeles, CA 90041
OFFICE: 323-259-1421
FAX: 323-341-4940
mailto:mpitelka@oxy.edu
Hank Murrow on wed 10 aug 05
Dear Morgan; Thanks so much for your cogent and sensitive picture of
this piece of history. I want to take this occasion to thank you for
your work in relation to Tea and pottery. Sometimes we potters play it
a bit too loose, and it is wonderful; of you to take the time to steer
us closer to a truth.
Cheers, Hank in Eugene
On Aug 10, 2005, at 5:15 PM, Vince Pitelka wrote:
> This is something that has always interested me, and I wanted to ask
> my son
> about it. I appreciate what Lee wrote, and forwarded that to Morgan.
> Here's what Morgan had to say about it.
> - Vince
>
> Response from Morgan Pitelka:
> The most common terms for the 16th century conflict between Japan and
> Korea
> are not "Bunroku" and "Keicho," which are simply the Japanese reign
> years
> for that period. Instead, Japanese historians
> usually talk about "Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea," while Korean
> historians
> refer to this conflict as the Imjin Wars (1592-1598). These names are
> still
> hotly contested issues in East Asia, particularly considering the
> history of
> Japan's later brutal occupation of Korea as a colony from 1910 to 1945.
>
> Korean historians estimate that more than 120,000 Koreans died in the
> Imjin
> Wars. For me, the fact that this was an aggressive invasion that
> destroyed
> the Choson Korean economy, destabilized the political
> and social systems, and ultimately brought about the collapse of the
> Ming
> Dynasty in China (the armies of the Ming ended up saving the Koreans,
> with a
> little help from the sudden death of Hideyoshi) makes
> the acquisition of potters and ceramics a rather minor footnote. At
> the very
> least it does a disservice to Korean history to call this the "teabowl
> wars."
>
> On the whole though, Lee is quite right that warlords and other tea
> practitioners and collectors became interested in Korean ceramics for
> the
> first time in the late 16th century, and therefore took advantage
> of the "opportunity" afforded by the Imjin Wars to seize loot and
> either
> kidnap or invite potters to return to Japan. This certainly did
> introduce
> new ceramic designs, techniques, and technology into Japan.
> Unfortunately
> the incredible cost to Korea is rarely acknowledged or discussed
> openly, and
> is certainly ignored by tea practitioners when they admire the Korea
> tea
> bowls in Japanese collections that may have been acquired during this
> tragic
> conflict.
>
> A good recent history of the conflict is Stephen Turnbull, Samurai
> Invasion:
> Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598 (Cassell, 2002).
>
> Morgan
>
> *****************
> Morgan Pitelka
> History and Asian Studies
> Occidental College
> 1600 Campus Road
> Los Angeles, CA 90041
> OFFICE: 323-259-1421
> FAX: 323-341-4940
> mailto:mpitelka@oxy.edu
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
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>
>
www.murrow.biz/hank
Lee Love on wed 10 aug 05
--- In clayart@yahoogroups.com, Overall's wrote:
>
> > he called them `korean farm pots`. he said that they had no place
> in the modern world "
>
> > HEY! I resemble that remark (being part Korean and Hawaiian
> > and Scotch, English and Irish, too.. acronym: SHIEK)
I wrote more on the topic, having a dialog with Rick Mahaffy:
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/togeika
Also, check out this site: http://www.saemigol.co.kr/bowl/program.aspx
english: http://www.saemigol.co.kr/eng/sabal.aspx (Korean site is more
elaborate)
In Hadong Saemigol they are trying to re-establish the tradition of
Chosen/Ido pottery.
--
Lee Love
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://seisokuro.blogspot.com/ My Photo Logs
"The way we are, we are members of each other. All of us. Everything.
The difference ain't in who is a member and who is not, but in who knows it and who don't."
-- Burley Coulter (Wendell Berry)
Vince Pitelka on thu 11 aug 05
> Thank you, Morgan. You give a lot to this
> list in terms of information - and you ain't even
> a potter!!
Actually, he is a potter, but he doesn't have much time for it these days.
He learned the basics as a kid when I was full-time potter, and at Amherst
High School they had an excellent ceramics facility and a great teacher -
Jim Logan - that's where Morgan really learned to make pots. In
undergraduate school at Oberlin College they had a pottery club with a
decent facility (there was no ceramics in the art department). He also did
a winter-break pottery intensive at U-Mass while we were there. When he
received his Thomas J. Watson post-undergraduate fellowship to go spend a
year in Japan visiting potters and pottery producing villages, his pottery
was one of the things that impressed the selection committee.
But then, as his dad, I suppose I am a biased reporter.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
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