Ido Teabowl

This tea bowl's distinctive shape is said to derive from Korean bowls made for everyday use, such as for holding rice, in the 1500s and 1600s. Japanese tea practitioners of the time found these unpretentious wares suitable for the humble spirit of the tea ceremony; they treasured these vessels, dubbing them "Ido" bowls. The origin of the name Ido, however, is not clear. One popular theory is that it derives from a Korean place name, most likely a kiln site. So far no one has found a site yielding such bowls. Some time after the 1600s, Japanese potters began making similar bowls, calling them Ido-style to differentiate them from their Korean prototypes.

Tsujimura Shiro's work is an example of the modern Ido-style tea bowl. It is formed of clay obtained in the mountains above Nara, the city where the artist lives. A transparent wood-ash glaze covers the entire body of the bowl. The trace of iron in the clay caused orange and black specs to form all over the surface. The white crusting on the body and foot is composed of pooled glaze.

The folded white hemp cloth resting inside the tea bowl is used to wipe and clean it as part of the tea preparation ritual.