PQotW: Week 33

[Pres]

Week 33

 

1. Although raku ware was guided to fame in ________ by Sen-no Rikyu - because it was favored by him for use in the tea ceremony – the raku ware itself was originated by Chojiro, the son of a Korean tile maker.

   1. Toono

   2. Gujo-Hachiman

   3. Kyoto

   4. Hirosaki

2. For centuries the tea ceremony, called _______________ (hot water for tea), has been responsible for creating an appreciation and understanding of raku pottery.

   1. Usa-Cha

   2. Cha-No-Yu

   3. Koicha

   4. Kaiseki

3. Clay for raku must mature chemically at or above ______________.; contain enough course or refractory material – such as grog, sand, volcanic ash, pumice, talc, or alumina – to withstand the thermal shock; respond well to the technique of forming; and successfully survive the firing.

   1. 1915⁰F.

   2. 2100⁰F.

   3. 1200⁰ F.

   4. 1600⁰F.

4. History and legend indicate that ______________ glazed pottery may have contributed to the decline of Roman aristocracy, and the eventual fall of the Roman empire.. . . . .also thought to be a source of disease or disability among the segment of the Mexican poor who use such potter.

   1. stoneware

   2. frit

   3. lead

   4. zinc

 

This weeks questions come from Raku Pottery, by Robert Pipenburg, c.1972, Collier Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Co.

 

Note from Pres:This is one of my older books, as I purchased it when I was taking Ceramics in undergrad at Penn State. We were studying raku at the time. No points for getting J. Baymore to help you out with the answers.

 

 

Answers:

1. 3. Kyoto-Although raku ware was guided to fame in Kyoto by Sen-no Rikyu - because it was favored by him for use in the tea ceremony - the raku ware itself was originated by Chojiro, the son of a Korean tile maker. During the 1520s Chojiro settled in Kyoto, and took the title Sokei after marrying into a Japanese family, and became naturalized. Rikyu became so fond of Chojiro that he honored him by giving him his father's name of Tanaka.

2. 2. Cha-No-Yu-The Tea Ceremony, like raku, is almost synonymous with Japan. For centuries the tea ceremony, called Cha-No—Yu (hot water for tea), has been responsible for creating an appreciation and understanding of raku pottery. The tea ceremony used raku tea bowls because they symbolized the beauty, the simple and unassuming qualities, that were in harmony with everyday life.

3. 4. 1600⁰ F.-Clay for use in raku can be found almost anywhere. The only require- ments are that the clay must mature chemically at or above 1600° F.; contain enough coarse or refractory material - such as grog, sand, volcanic ash, pumice, talc, or alumina - to withstand the thermal shock; respond well to the technique of forming; and successfully survive the firing.

4. 3 .lead-History and legend indicate that lead-glazed pottery may have contributed to the decline of Roman aristocracy, and the eventual fall of the Roman Empire. Wine stored in lead-glazed vessels or drunk from lead- glazed cups could have carried lead particles. The ingesting of these lead particles may have caused sterility as a result of chronic lead poisoning. The lead-glazed Mexican pottery of today is thought to be a source of disease or disability among the segment of the Mexican poor who use it. Reports from many countries throughout the world implicate lead as a poisoning agent that can cause serious illness, especially among children.

 

[Mark C.]

3

2

4

3

[Joy pots]

4, 2, 2 3

its a partial guess.

joy

[S. Dean]

1. 3

2. 2

3. 4

4. 3

[Judith B]

1 - 2

2 - 2

3 - 4

4 - 3

 

(In Tokyo this year, we had an exhibition on the Tea Ceremony and another one on the Raku family, it was so inspiring and beautiful!)

[LeeU]

1 and 2, I got nuthin'.  3=4 and 4=3.

[Chilly]

Whoa, had to read the first two questions three times, and still no idea.  Then needed the FtoC chart for Q3, but still don't know.

 

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?

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3

[Guest JBaymore]

So.... Pres sent me PM and mentioned that this week's quiz might interest me. (He did not mention the little "mention" he did at the bottom of the original page, however. )

I looked at the quiz... and immediately discovered something.  Wrote back to Pres about it.... and he said I should share that info here.  So I am.

This "something" is VERY important to note.  Not because of this specific instance, but because of the thing that I often say here (and other places):  Just because you read something in a book or on the internet, it does not necessarily make that single item accurate information.  You have to "dig deeper". 

So in question number 1 above, it makes some statements to support the question that they are actually asking (not going to reveal the answer ) .  Some of the statement made there is incorrect or is a bit misleading.  Pres got those "facts" from a printed book.  The book is wrong.

Japanese ceramic history is a field that I teach in the art history department at the college.  I've spent a lot of time researching this info in Japan and elsewhere.  Lots of time there in museums and talking to curators and researchers and potters.  Including some time at the Raku family pottery in the ........... (nope.... not saying where).  Here's what I mentioned to Pres in my message back to him:

Hum..... My understanding from a lot of research is that TANAKA Chojiro was the son of a CHINESE roof tile maker who came from China (not Korea) and who was a sancai (three color) ware potter there in China before coming to Japan.   And Chojiro did not really totally "originate" the ware, but was commissioned to make the ware BY Sen No Rikyu.   Sen was dictating the general character of the work. 

And here is a link that I later followed that comment up with to give some pretty definitive 'primary source' support to the point:

https://www.raku-yaki.or.jp/e/history/index.html

Sancai (sansai in Japanese) is a low fire lead glazed ware.  There is the 'connection' to the low fire Japanese process of Raku.  The family was familiar with low fire lead based glazes.  The forming of the ridge and eaves tiles of ceramic roofs is a very sculptural process, from a pretty coarse clay body.  There is the 'connection' to the basic forming process for the making of real Raku Chawan....... a basic rough very thick forming process and then serious subtractive completion. 

Now we are into a piece of conjecture from me.  Unproven, but making an "educated guess" as to a possibility.  There IS a firing process in Chinese history that is sort of a bit LIKE what we think of as Japanese Raku.  Pieces are fired to a very low temperature and then air cooled.  The Chinese process is a bit more like "copper enameling" as far as how it works.  MAYBE this is the root of Chojiro's process idea.  It is MAYBE possible that his father was familiar with this in China.  I'd have to be more a scholar of Chinese ceramic history to dig deeper into the background of  Ameya  (his father) to see if he might have been aware of that process in a certain part of China.  There is not enough time in life.............

SO............ there you have it.

best,

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

PS:  You still have to answer the question #1 as to WHERE. 

 

[Judith B]

6 hours ago, JBaymore said:

And Chojiro did not really totally "originate" the ware, but was commissioned to make the ware BY Sen No Rikyu

Yes, it was a collaboration between Chojiro and Sen No Rikyu