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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Seeker » Dec 10th, '09, 16:47

Is there a place to find JB's stuff online so I can explore?
:mrgreen:

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by JBaymore » Dec 10th, '09, 17:29

Seeker,

In a way I was kidding about the chaire. Sorry if I misled you there. :oops: It was just the juxtoposition of the very commercial matcha tincan against the chawan, the wisk, and the scoop that looked pretty darn funny to me.

Chaire are ceramic containers specifically for Chanoyu. They are not for tea storage. The sifted tea goes into them prior to the ceremony. As chadogu they are present in the tearoom during a ceremony and placed in the setting like a natsume. They function for ceremony almost exactly like natsume, but are specifically used for "thick tea" while natsume are specifically for "thin tea".

Of course a real Tea Master can use any object they want for any type of ceremony. A old hub cap could be a wabi-sabi chawan :lol: .

Thin tea (usucha) is a more informal type of ceremony. Thick tea (koicha) is more formal. As such, chaire are then often considered more "elite" objects than natsume. Pricing for chaire often heads quite a ways toward the chawan range.

As gaijin (foreigner), I often use porcelain for the lids of chaire. Heresy! :wink: Traditionally they are ivory. (These days the cheap lids are made of a resin that looks like ivory.) Traditionally they also have a gold foil lining attached inside, a hold over from the troubled times in Japanese history. This is to indicate if poison has been mixed into the matcha. On mine, I sometimes fire on a high qulaity overglaze of 22 karat gold. Heresy! :wink:

Because I am gaijin....... any chajin who is truly "traditional" is not going to buy my chawan nor my other chadogu. Just the way it is. So that being said, I can "get away" with stuff like that I mantioned above because the people who buy and use my chadogu have demonstrated they are already "open" to non-traditional works.

Something to think about however.........

You have chosen to use a nice chawan to enhance your experience of having your matcha. You don't drink it out of the aforementioned hubcap :wink: . You also use a bamboo tea scoop, not just any ole teaspoon out of the silverware drawer.

So the aesthetic qualities of the pieces you use to prepare and serve your tea seem to have SOME importance to you. "Tea Ceremony", in many ways, can be what you WANT it to be. You are not practicing "Chanoyu". You are practicing "SeekerNoYu". You can define that ritual in any way you want.

The ritual of preparing tea for even yourself in a home setting can be a "ceremony". So adding other "high touch" objects into that occasion might not necessarily be simply an "inconvenience". It might be a part of enhansing that overall experience.

best,

...................john
Last edited by JBaymore on Dec 10th, '09, 17:40, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by JBaymore » Dec 10th, '09, 17:38

Seeker wrote:Is there a place to find JB's stuff online so I can explore?
:mrgreen:
At some point I'll put up a Teaware Artisan's page here. But I am totally flat out with exisiting commitments... so that is not on the front burner at the moment.

best,

................john

Dec 10th, '09, 21:32
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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by teabone » Dec 10th, '09, 21:32

Wow! The foodsaver vacuum container is the bomb. I keep mine in a baggie! :oops:

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Dec 11th, '09, 17:33
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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Robert Fornell » Dec 11th, '09, 17:33

As gaijin (foreigner), I often use porcelain for the lids of chaire. Heresy! Traditionally they are ivory. (These days the cheap lids are made of a resin that looks like ivory.) Traditionally they also have a gold foil lining attached inside, a hold over from the troubled times in Japanese history. This is to indicate if poison has been mixed into the matcha. On mine, I sometimes fire on a high qulaity overglaze of 22 karat gold. Heresy!

Because I am gaijin....... any chajin who is truly "traditional" is not going to buy my chawan nor my other chadogu. Just the way it is. So that being said, I can "get away" with stuff like that I mantioned above because the people who buy and use my chadogu have demonstrated they are already "open" to non-traditional works.

Hello Seeker and JB,

Au contraire JB regarding the notion that traditional chajin do not buy gaijin chadogu. Richard Milgrim, http://teaceramics.com/home-E.html has made a fine career both in Japan as well as in the US making and selling his work with others including Jeff Shapiro, Peter Callas, and John Dix to name a few. 3 years ago I was invited to submit work for a chakai held by the iemoto of Omotesenke at Daitokuji in Kyoto which focused on works by American potters working in the chatou vein. While the submitted chawan was sold, the mizusashi they requested was shipped back to my studio at which time I promptly tore off the shipping documents and nailed them to my studio wall...... insured value $35,000.00 :lol: :lol: :lol:

How people think about tea in Japan is also changing as well as while there are many "traditionalists", there are many folks who are exploring/expanding ways to share/enjoy tea in new contexts/ways to whom a different take on a chawan or mizusashi is refreshing. Like the afore mention "Seekernoyu".

Good advice though JB, surround yourself with dogu that you like, high touch items among them, and create your own experience/ritual and enjoy!

Best,
R
Last edited by Robert Fornell on Dec 11th, '09, 22:44, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Seeker » Dec 11th, '09, 21:04

Wow Ronin - thanks for posting! As always, wonderful perspective,
and great teaching. Grateful!
Matcha?
Today - well, today, my pc crashed. :shock: :( :evil: :twisted: :cry: .
It is in the shop.
So, I am using my macbook today, and I've never uploaded or managed photos with it.
So only now am I getting to sharing today's matcha.
Organic Kaoru supreme, in a mino style Tengu chawan by Ronin Ceramurai.
Image
Image

Cheers.

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by JBaymore » Dec 11th, '09, 22:49

ronin ceramurai wrote:Au contrare JB regarding the notion that traditional chajin do not buy gaijin chadogu. Richard Milgrim, http://teaceramics.com/home-E.html has made a fine career both in Japan as well as in the US making and selling his work with others including Jeff Shapiro, Peter Callas, and John Dix to name a few. 3 years ago I was invited to submit work for a chakai held by the iemoto of Omotesenke at Daitokuji in Kyoto which focused on works by American potters working in the chatou vein. While the submitted chawan was sold, the mizusashi they requested was shipped back to my studio at which time I promptly tore off the shipping documents and nailed them to my studio wall...... insured value $35,000.00 :lol: :lol: :lol:

How people think about tea in Japan is also changing as well as while there are many "traditionalists", there are many folks who are exploring/expanding ways to share/enjoy tea in new contexts/ways to whom a different take on a chawan or mizusashi is refreshing. Like the afore mention "Seekernoyu".

Good advice though JB, surround yourself with dogu that you like, high touch items among them, and create your own experience/ritual and enjoy!

Best,
R
Robert,

I know that things are changing.... but that is just it...... changing. I think where we differ is on the definition of "traditionalist" :wink: . I still stand by my thought that there are plenty of chajin traditionalists that would not look at American chadogu as "worthy" of serious consideration. The fact that it is changing is due to those people I mention that are "open" to new ideas. They are not really traditionalists....... they are willing to think outside the box. That is not real core traditionalism. I sell such work in Japan too...to the people who will be open to the idea. But I know plenty of folks over there who do not look favorably on such work too. Or if they do consider it.... it ios the "novelty" of the idea.

I know Richard... he's a friend. The coop studio he works out of here in the US (Concord, MA) has a gas kiln that I designed and built. He certainly makes killer chadogu. And his work is very well accepted in Japan. However, sometimes I think he is more Japanese than the Japanese :lol: . I was hoping to present at NCECA this year in Philly with him..... but at the time we needed to put the proposal together... he was off to Japan. Too bad. The idea I had was great. Timing did not work out this time around.

Anyway, the main point was the whole "Seekernoyu" concept. :)

best,

...................john

PS: Yeah.... I'd frame that receipt too! :lol:

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Seeker » Dec 11th, '09, 23:53

Just checked out R M's site and chawan.
Woh.
Some inspiring pieces.
Very cool.

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by JBaymore » Dec 12th, '09, 05:04

Yeah... Richard is a really, really good potter. And a great person. There is a very nice book about him if you are interested. Recently published by Kodansha, Japan, or Kodansha International, I think.

best,

.................john

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Robert Fornell » Dec 12th, '09, 18:56

John,

I must be in agreement that the so called "traditionalists" would pass on my work as well as yours and most likely 利茶道 (Richard's) as well although he does have an important backer in the iemoto of Urasenke.

The "traditionalists" of Rikyu's day would have probably balked at the idea of a chawan sourced out of a Korean kitchen would find it its way into the chashitsu as well. Now this Ido chawan has become the new "tradition" in said eyes. Like you said, and I have postulated as well, that Japan is changing which I can definitely sense when looking at chadogu in Japan as I always come home refreshed after a trip back having taken in the huge variety of teaware found there. The diference between learning/studying and absorbing/digesting.

"Simply imitating someone elses art doesn't translate into a work of any passion or substance" - Miwa Jyusetsu

Hope to meet Richard someday.... I saw his Chimei show at Takashimaya in Kyoto in 2006 and while he was in the gallery, it was opening day and he was quite busy with the press as well as okyakusama.

Best,
R

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by JBaymore » Dec 12th, '09, 19:59

ronin ceramurai wrote:The "traditionalists" of Rikyu's day would have probably balked at the idea of a chawan sourced out of a Korean kitchen would find it its way into the chashitsu as well.
Robert,

When Rikkyu was first formulating the "wabi-cha" approach / aesthetic...... Hideoshi would likely have cringed at anything other than Chinese wares. As a high official unfortunately lacking the "proper" family background, all that "pomp and circumstance" and ostentatious Chanoyu stuff helped "elevate" his peaseant status. Then thanks to Rikkyu "bucking the system...... Korean and other "rustic" pieces eventually became OK...... but not without a lot of "fight", I imagine. Then in Rikkyu's case, bucking his "traditionalist" leige lord just a final tad too much got him invited to enjoy seppuku. :o :roll:

Moral......... don't bite the hand that feeds you? :wink:

Every time I go back I find all the changes happening in Japan in rather short periods to be pretty darn astounding too. Some for the good... some not so good.

I was hoping to visit Richard this summer when I was in Kyoto...... he was expecting me to show up...... but I had to send him an email begging off. I got caught losing a crucial travel day when the second big-ish earthquake hit and shut down the Shinkansen for a bit. My schedule in Kyoto was full...... so that delay killed that idea. I've never seen his place there and I'd really like to. Maybe next time if he is in town.

best,

.................john

PS:
ronin ceramurai wrote:........although he does have an important backer in the iemoto of Urasenke.
We both know how that works in Japan. :lol:

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Victoria » Dec 12th, '09, 22:26

Rakuyaki vintage teabowl:
Image

Good to the last drop:
Image

Sorry for the bad pics, but a resolution is coming!

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Seeker » Dec 12th, '09, 23:27

Oh Victoria,
GORgeous!! Wow.
Great shots! Geez, beautiful.
Love the wonderful, crackling. Nice!
I'm late posting today - dealing with computer crashing, and
doing photos on my macbook, and it really works w/ pics
differently! Very new to iPhoto and naming photos and then finding them to upload! :?
Today - two series, my sweetheart's matcha and mine.
1st, my partner had her matcha in Shyrabbit's warm shino and ash.
warming:
Image
sifting:
Image
whisking:
Image
matcha:
Image
ahhh:
Image
then for me, cory lum's "geode" chawan.
warming:
Image
"mt. fuji":
Image
elixir:
Image

good thing the photos came out small :) .
Cheers!

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by Victoria » Dec 12th, '09, 23:42

Wow, great shots!! Love Mt. Fuji!!!

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Re: Today's Matcha :D (new name, but tea's the same)

by MorningEarth » Dec 13th, '09, 12:12

Sen No Rikyu was part Korean the grandson of a Korean aesthetician working for a Japanese warlord. It is widely known that much of what is natural about Japanese tea came from Korea. Sen No Rikyu selected Korean rice bowls for use as tea bowls because they were so natural. He also chose the son of a Korean roof tile maker to produce the "now ware" bowls that later became known as Raku.
If you are open to a very spiritual Korean tea experience go to the web site TeaTourKorea.com. The tour is non profit and will introduce members to both Korean tea and tea ware.

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