ken kata

Japanese Tea Bowl - MINO

Note: This is not a rant or complaint about the seller of these 

" excavated" tea bowls " . 

I am explaining the  several intriguing/fascinating explanations that  accompany the selling

of his/her tea bowls. 

I do have several more tea bowls bought form the seller.

I will post them later in this series of postings about my experience.

So, first off, I want to establish the seller's beautifully stated, some what romanticized  descriptions  of each tea bowl.

I love his (or, who ever stated that ) description of each tea bowl.

It somehow, establishes the seller has knowledge of Mino tea bowls.

Secondly, Here is a statement that accompanies the description from the sellers postings :

" Mino ceramics were produced for the Kyoto market.

About 1630/40,  a change of fashion took place, resulting in an overproduction at the kilns.

The merchandize was still warehoused at the kilns, but the Kyoto whole sellers did not buy anymore.

This is also evidenced by a number of full warehouses excavated in Kyoto. 

Over the years the kilns were covered by leaves and humus.

Before the Tokyo Olympics an new highway was built trough the region (the Chuo Expressway), during the construction unknown kilns were unearthed but not scientifically recorded, because of time pressure.

On the construction free weekends people (mostly farmers living nearby) went 'treasure hunting' and found truck loads of tea bowls mizusashi and other tea ceramics.

Since about 1990 , these pieces appear in the market in Japan, as young people have little interest in tea ceremony or collecting anymore.

Of course there are broken pieces, but many are unharmed and were well protected by the soft earth of the woods; after rinsing the them with water, they look like new ? even though many have discoloration from black soil at the unglazed areas.

So, the first part, the seller, who has "knowledge" of Mino tea bowls, has  a explanation of how he acquired these 400 year old Mino tea bowls , the CHUO EXPERSSWAY EXCAVATION.

I was searching the internet for information on the CHUO EXPRESSWAY EXCAVATIONS.

There was only one article I found, but, it was during the 70's and 80's.  Not in the 1990's. 

It also seems, that there were older ceramic pieces found. no mention of Edo period ceramics, unless, there was another "Excavation" later?  

Here is a part of the CHUO EXPRESSWAY article : 

" It may sound odd to have a museum accessible from an expressway rest area, but there is a story behind it.  

During the construction of the Chuo Expressway in the late 1970s/early 1980s, planners realized the expressway would run through the Shakado area (named for a local temple) known to contain historical ruins.  

When the road builders started digging the road bed, the ruins were found to be quite extensive, with layers of important artifacts dating from 1,000 years ago to 20,000 years ago.

 It was decided to halt the road construction while the entire area was thoroughly excavated.

To complete the excavation as quickly as possible, an army of diggers–more than 20,000 people–were employed, including professional archaeologists, local farmers and their families, university students, and anyone willing to help out.  

The dig lasted from February 1980 to November 1981.

Only after the excavation was completed was the expressway construction continued. "

Here is the link: 

https://jigsaw-Japan.com/2019/02/16/shakado-museum-of-jomon-culture-really-digging-back-in-time/