The Crane Ib Hak Style Tea Bowl: An Example By Kim Jeong Oak

The crane is an auspicious bird. The crane is a symbol of immortality. Taoists believe that cranes are the vehicles that morals take to heaven, transporting them to the realm of immortality.

The characteristics that make up Ib Hak style bowls capture and transform this feeling into clay.
Into a bowl for which tea is drank.
Into a feeling of ascending into heaven.
Into the crane.

The most obvious features of these bowls is the image of a crane found on the side wall. The cranes on Ib Hak style bowls all look extremely familiar- white tip beak, black neck and head, white body and legs, black tail feathers, black feet.

The less obvious imagery of the crane is found in other characteristics of Ib Hak style bowls. If we look at the 'tong hyeong' style body of the bowl it too, represents the crane.

The bottom of the bowl bulges out a bit. This bulge is found in many bowls as the inside bulges outward conforming to the bulbous shape of the tea whisks fine bamboo thines. This shape is said to be conducive to making the best matcha as it allows for the smooth motion of the whisk when the tea is whipped up. It causes the tea to be exposed to the right amount of oxygen as it splashes up against the lower sides of the bowl.

Besides this of topic technical aspect, the bottom bulge looks like the body of the crane, the concave sides resemble the crane's neck, and the 'eui ban' style protruding lip looks like the crane's beak.

If we turn a Ib Hak style bowl over we can see its 'ja ren' style foot. This foot has 3 wide protrusions (the number 3 is also auspicious) that give the feeling of hooking in and anchoring down. A crane's foot has three pronounced toes. When hunting and walking the crane stands on only one foot, yet is completely in balance. In this way the foot of Ib Hak style bowls is the foot of the crane standing in balance.

Overall, the shape of bowl exudes a feeling of upward movement or ascending. Specifically how the sides of the bowl curve out ascending gently towards the 'eui ban' style lip which gracefully slopes toward the heavens.

Unlike most styles of Korean tea bowls, it stands quite tall. The height of the bowls 'tong hyeong' shape creates a feeling of ascending, of swooping upwards- a crane in flight.

This bowl is the crane.
As frothy matcha slopes over the lip sliding tea over our tongue, we too, perhaps just for a while, are carried away to a heavenly place.
Transcending time, transcending mortality.

Peace

Sam Do Tea Bowl Style- A Look At The Ju Sam Do Subtype

This style of tea drinking bowl can be traced back to June 6th, 1565 where it is described in written records by the Japanese. The name ‘Sam Do’ or ‘Three Islands’ refers to the three islands in the south of Korea where the Japanese first stumbled across this style. It most likely erroneously alludes to two islands and part of the peninsula which was mistaken as being completely surrounded by water.

These bowls are marked with white. Most, but not all, have short slashes of white just inside and/or outside the lip of the bowl. These dashes give the bowls a feeling of movement and depth. At the bottom of these bowls there is a rather short simple, even cut ‘Haes Moo Ri’ style foot. These pieces are often heavily glazed.

There are many subclasses of ‘Sam Do’ bowls the most popular and probably most spectacular being the ‘Hwa Sam Do’. ‘Hwa’ means flower so these bowls are ‘Flowered Three Island’ Bowls. They carry this name because there are white flowers that are stamped onto the bowl using a stone or wood carved stamp. Quite often there are thousands of these little white flowers that cover the inside and sometimes the outside of these bowls creating a wonderful blossoming effect.

These bowls, like many others from this early time, were coveted by the Japanese. Today, however this style is not in vogue, and is quite a rarer sight.

This bowl is a different subtype of the sam do style- 'Ju Sam Do'. All 'Ju Sam Do' bowls, from a far distance , look completely identical. Only upon close inspection can you notice the subtleties that divide amateur 'Ju Sam Do' bowls from the 'Ju Sam Do' bowls of masters.

This wonderful example of the ‘Ju Sam Do’ style is by buncheong master Kim Jeong Oak. This piece looks quite respectable in shape and form. When cupped in the palms of the hands this bowl feels wild and uncut as flesh senses the criss-crossing white divots.

The flowers are not overdone in this piece and linger near the bottom. They serve to balance and give elegance to the many white slashes that hover above. The cloudy glaze around the foot of this bowl hints at its genius, a last attempt at turning simple and wild into soft stable sophisticated beauty. You can feel the movement and balance in this bowl from top to bottom, from rough to refined.

Doesn’t our restless mind also follow this progression after taking time in our busy days to drink tea?

Surely drinking matcha from this bowl would bring about such an affect.

Peace

Joseon White Porcelain

Although white porcelain tea sets like this one are not a common sight on this blog, they were once the most sought after pieces in Korea.

Korean white porcelain was first popularized during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and so it is often referred to as Joseon White Porcelain or as Joseon Baekja. The Joseon nobility governed the country using the principles of Confucianism. When Joseon rose to power they attempted to stamp out and repress all things synonymous with the previous rulers of Korea, the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392).

Under the Goryeo Dynasty, Buddhism was the state religion. At this time powdered tea, similar to the way tea was prepared in the Sung Dynasty of China, was the preferred method of enjoying tea. The Joseon Dynasty despised all things 'Buddhist' and gradually began drift away from preparing tea in this manner.

The Confucian literati played a crucial roll in popularizing the use of leaf tea in Korea. They claimed that the best way to experience tea is in a Joseon White Porcelain cup using loose leaves. They poetically praised how the white colour allows for the jade green liquor to be fully appreciated. Their influence must have been widespread because even Cho Ui, the Korean Saint of Tea, and a devout Buddhist, sings praise for Joseon white porcelain cups, in his masterpiece titled Dashinjeon, the story of the tea god (1830). He claims that cups as white as snow are best because they don't distort the colour.

It is important to note that during the Joseon Dynasty these pieces were once very difficult to produce using a wood fired kiln. The whitest pieces were the most sought after during this time. Nowadays, modern gas-fired kilns make producing this style much easier. This, in part, has lead to the relative decline in popularity for pieces like this today. If you visit a tea shop in Korea you are bound to see at least one set of Joseon white porcelain on display. It is quite common for famous Buncheong masters to try their hand at the unpretentious form and simple blue designs of Joseon Baekja.

The set pictured here is a beautiful example of this style by Kim Jeong Oak.

An Edo Style Tea Bowl By Kim Jeong Oak

This bowl by Kim Jeong Oak is an eye-catcher. The cracks of this bowl are beautiful. Upon closer inspection there are smaller cracks within the boundaries marked by larger cracks that give way to even more smaller delicate fractures. Even the blobs of white glaze found on the foot are not exempt from these graceful fractures.

In the subtle pinkish-orange glow of the bowl's shallow, these cracks give way to black air holes. One's mind gives way to awe.

Peace