Yes another explainer video! I look forward to seeing the notification pop up every time. Thanks for making tea culture accessible to beginners. It's so amazing that there are specific names for each feature/style and I'd imagine a whole history behind how they come about.
This was such an educational video! I learned so much about the different types of matcha bowls (chawan), their history, and their traditional uses. It's fascinating to see how each type of chawan connects to different aspects of tea culture. I'd love to hear more about the materials used for each type of chawan and how those impact the overall tea experience. For instance, you mentioned bowls made from Shino, Raku, and Karatsu, but how does the clay influence the texture and feel of each bowl during a tea ceremony? Also, have you come across porcelain matcha chawans? I'm heading up to Arita for the ceramic fair, I’m curious how they compare to the more traditional clay types in terms of aesthetics and functionality. Lastly, it would be amazing if you could recommend some books on matcha and chawan for those of us eager to dive deeper into this rich history and culture. Looking forward to learning more from your future videos!
The clay and glaze combinations of the different ceramic traditions around Japan affect the feel a few ways. The texture, of course, being one: unglazed wares or glazed bowls thrown from rocky clay will be rougher and of a more 'earthy' aesthetic. Weight is another. Raku chawan are famously light and soft feeling where as a denser piece might feel more grounded and hefty in the hand and on the tatami. Relatedly, heat transfer plays a huge part in how a bowls 'handles' if you would. A thinner porcelain chawan will transfer heat to the hands much quicker than a thicker stoneware bowl (which is one reason I *generally* don't use thin porcelain). In the context of a tea gathering where the water for matcha is typically hotter than the 70-80C that is recommended to most people, this can make a big difference. Hope this answered some of your questions!
Of course, as you'd know from your excellent interview with him, Hōsai is an absolute artist and is working in between and outside of these classical descriptors with his fusion of wheel-thrown and hand-carved bowls. The faceting is called mentori (面取り - faceted) or herame (箆目 - spatula marks). I'd use the latter for the more irregular styles he sometimes does. The one historical bowl that comes to mind is Ueda Sōko's Satemo. As far as shapes go, they're mostly in the hantsutsu-gata region, broadly, espeically with the flat base and sharp koshi (transition from the foot to the sidewall) that he tends to carve them with. But they do tend to flare subtly as opposided to being straight cylinders
We have a few glass chawan (mostly pouring styles) and one will feature in a future video ;) but yes, unless they are made specifically for the temperature shock, glass bowls don't make great chawan. When made well, they are wonderful
Yay, amazing to learn! Thank you!
Yes another explainer video! I look forward to seeing the notification pop up every time. Thanks for making tea culture accessible to beginners. It's so amazing that there are specific names for each feature/style and I'd imagine a whole history behind how they come about.
Loved it! Your presentations are always a pleasure to watch and listen to, David.😁
Love the depth of your expertise... keep these coming, they're fantastic!
This was quite amazing, and the humor was on point. Loved it, thank you for making the video
My favourites are all of them. Though I'm saving money for a raku one. Thanks for sharing you knowledge 🙏
This was such an educational video! I learned so much about the different types of matcha bowls (chawan), their history, and their traditional uses. It's fascinating to see how each type of chawan connects to different aspects of tea culture. I'd love to hear more about the materials used for each type of chawan and how those impact the overall tea experience. For instance, you mentioned bowls made from Shino, Raku, and Karatsu, but how does the clay influence the texture and feel of each bowl during a tea ceremony?
Also, have you come across porcelain matcha chawans? I'm heading up to Arita for the ceramic fair, I’m curious how they compare to the more traditional clay types in terms of aesthetics and functionality.
Lastly, it would be amazing if you could recommend some books on matcha and chawan for those of us eager to dive deeper into this rich history and culture. Looking forward to learning more from your future videos!
The clay and glaze combinations of the different ceramic traditions around Japan affect the feel a few ways. The texture, of course, being one: unglazed wares or glazed bowls thrown from rocky clay will be rougher and of a more 'earthy' aesthetic. Weight is another. Raku chawan are famously light and soft feeling where as a denser piece might feel more grounded and hefty in the hand and on the tatami. Relatedly, heat transfer plays a huge part in how a bowls 'handles' if you would. A thinner porcelain chawan will transfer heat to the hands much quicker than a thicker stoneware bowl (which is one reason I *generally* don't use thin porcelain). In the context of a tea gathering where the water for matcha is typically hotter than the 70-80C that is recommended to most people, this can make a big difference.
Hope this answered some of your questions!
love these explainer videos, so much to learn and enjoy while looking at beautiful pottery! ☺️
Brilliant explainer video, thank you! How would you call the fasceted chawans, for example the ones from Hosai Matsubayashi XVI from Asahiyaki?
Of course, as you'd know from your excellent interview with him, Hōsai is an absolute artist and is working in between and outside of these classical descriptors with his fusion of wheel-thrown and hand-carved bowls. The faceting is called mentori (面取り - faceted) or herame (箆目 - spatula marks). I'd use the latter for the more irregular styles he sometimes does. The one historical bowl that comes to mind is Ueda Sōko's Satemo.
As far as shapes go, they're mostly in the hantsutsu-gata region, broadly, espeically with the flat base and sharp koshi (transition from the foot to the sidewall) that he tends to carve them with. But they do tend to flare subtly as opposided to being straight cylinders
@@tezumitea makes sense, thanks!
I’d like to see a video of glass chawan, they are so pretty but seem to be more sat risk of cracking due to temperature change.
We have a few glass chawan (mostly pouring styles) and one will feature in a future video ;) but yes, unless they are made specifically for the temperature shock, glass bowls don't make great chawan. When made well, they are wonderful
could you recommend stores in tokyo with chawan please?