Page 24 - Sotheby's New York Linyushanren Part IV Auction September 13, 2018

The Appreciation of Cizhou Ceramics in Japan

Masahiko Kuze, Associate, Asian Art

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The town of Julu 鉅鹿, located in Southern Hebei province, was year of Hoei 宝永 (1706) made by Ogata Kenzan 尾形乾山 (1663 -
buried under mud fows caused by the fooding of the Yellow River 1743), a prestigious potter in the Edo period, looks similar to Yuan-
in the 2nd year of Daguan 大観 (1108) in the Northern Song dynasty, dynasty Cizhou iron-painted ware. However, he himself inscribed
under the reign of the 8th emperor Hui Zong 徽宗. In 1920, over on the basin that “I made this after a rare Joseon Kingdom piece.” In
eight hundred years after the food, the town emerged again amidst Japanese tea ceremony circles, white slip bowls with plum blossom
the effort of locals digging a well during a long-lasting drought in the pattern made in Cizhou kilns during the Ming dynasty are also
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area. They may not have found water, but they did fnd white slip- known as Egorai. 2
applied ceramic wares which would eventually stimulate the curiosity
It is not until the late 1920s, after the discovery of Julu, that the
of antique dealers in Beijing and their clients, such as literati and notion of “Song ceramics” was widely known amongst the public,
foreigners. The discovery of Julu also created a huge sensation among
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let alone Cizhou ceramics. An exhibition, “Soji” 宋瓷, held by a
connoisseurs in Japan. Since then, Cizhou wares have been popular -
community of connoisseurs called Towakai 陶話會 with the help
in Japan and are known as “Kyoroku”, the Japanese pronunciation of
of the founder of Kochukyo 壺中居, Hirota Matsushige 廣田松繁,
Julu. This term is primarily used for plain white wares.
known as Fukosai 不孤斎, introduced a different style of Chinese
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Throughout the long history of ceramic production in China, there ceramics, which was new to the eyes of the people in Japan. The
have been numerous different styles, and thus the types of wares in exhibition took place on the upper foor of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi
one collection may be different than those in another collection, Department store 日本橋三越 and displayed fne examples of Song
often refecting the taste of a particular culture or country. In Japan, ceramics newly excavated at that time. The 45 day exhibition was
with its geographic and cultural proximity to China, a vast number very well received, and was attended by Princes Chichibu 秩父宮
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of Chinese ceramics have been imported through the centuries. and Takamatsu 高松宮. The general public, who only thought of
This began in the 13th century with the introduction into Japan Chinese ceramics in the context of the tea ceremony, were both
of Zen (Chan) 禅 Buddhism and the custom of drinking tea. The shocked and impressed by the pieces displayed in the exhibition.
Japanese tea ceremony became the medium that enhanced the value The exhibition catalogue Towakai Soji Tenkan zufu (Song Ceramics,
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of Chinese ceramics and turned them into a widely regarded status Towakai exhibition catalogue) 宋瓷 陶話會宋瓷展觀圖譜 (fgs. 1
symbol. Certain types of Chinese ceramics such as Longquan kinuta and 2), published in 1929, shows 59 pieces collected by important
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砧 celadons, bowls from the Jian kiln, iron-red-enameled and gold- collectors such as Sorimachi Shigesaku 反町茂作, Kurahashi Tojiro 倉
decorated kinrande 金襴手-style wares, and blue and white porcelain 橋藤治郎, Yokogawa Tamisuke 横河民輔, Hosokawa Moritatsu 細川
from Jingdezhen made specifcally for the Japanese market, so-called 護立, as well as painters like Yokoyama Taikan 横山大観, Hiroshima
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kosometsuke 古染付, were in high demand for the tea ceremony. Koho 廣島晃甫 and Yasuda Yukihiko 安田靱彦. Surprisingly, out of
However, it was not until the early 20th century with the discovery the 59 pieces in the exhibition, 47 were of Cizhou type, refecting
of the Cizhou kiln in Julu that Japanese connoisseurs came to the early enthusiasm of the collectors.
appreciate Cizhou ceramics. People in Japan have traditionally
A successful businessman and collector, Kurahashi Tojiro 倉橋藤治
favored Chinese ceramics and have simply termed them “Karamono” 郎, stated in his 1932 publication, Tokizuroku Kyorokushutsudoto 陶
唐物, literally translated “artifacts from Tang dynasty, China”,
器図録 鉅鹿出土陶, that the pieces excavated from Julu are precious
regardless of what period of time a piece was produced.
and extraordinary as they were found from the very site where
The term Karamono is used for those Chinese artifacts used in the
they had been used in the everyday life of the people who lived
Japanese tea ceremony. In fact, Cizhou shards were found in Japan, there before the food. He also emphasized that the town was lost
such as the sgraffato type from Toba Rikyu 鳥羽離宮, an excavation
to the food under the rule of the Emperor Huizong whose reign
site in Kyoto, which is the remains of the palace of the retired
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emperors from the 12th-14th centuries. However, their number has been regarded by the Japanese as the culmination of art and
culture in Chinese history. “Higashiyamagomotsu” 東山御物, the
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is very few and the perception of them at the time is somewhat collection formed by the eighth shogun of Muromachi Bakufu 室
different from the one we have today.
町幕府, Ashikaga Yoshimasa 足利義政, includes some paintings
Until the discovery of Julu, pieces produced in Cizhou kilns were attributed to the Emperor Huizong and they are all registered today
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referred to as Egorai 絵高麗 which literally means “painted Goryeo”, as National Treasures. These remarks by Kurahashi seem to explain
and generally referred to a group of ceramics applied with white slip the background in which Cizhou pieces have been appreciated by
and iron painting and produced on the Korean peninsula. Because of the Japanese. This is exemplifed by the fact that Ido tea bowls 井戸
stylistic similarities, the Japanese thought they were made in Korea, 茶碗, which are everyday wares originally used in Korea, have been
a perception reinforced by the fact that pieces made in Northern highly treasured among tea practitioners. Elements such as anonymity,
China were sometimes excavated from tombs in Korea and brought everydayness, unintentionality and austerity can be major criteria of
to Japan. An iron-painted chrysanthemum basin dated to the third beauty in Japan. Many pieces manufactured in Cizhou kilns have

22 Masterpieces of Cizhou Ware: The Linyushanren Collection, Part IV 磁州窯集珍：古韻天成-臨宇山人珍藏（四）