Southern Kyushu Export Tea Consortium
Japonism
Japanese arts and crafts influenced many European artists in the second half of the 19th century.
The Exposition Universelle in Paris in the 19th century showcased works of East Asian art that had never before been seen by Western painters.
Impressionist painters such as Van Gogh and Claude Monet incorporated Japanese art's powerful sense of color and techniques for depicting water landscapes into their work.
This movement was later named Japonisme.
Japonisme developed to the point where painters not only incorporated Japanese touches (coloring, depiction, etc.) into their works, but also depicted Japanese artworks themselves in their paintings.
Riding the wave of Japonism, Japanese pottery and porcelain also entered the lives of Westerners in various forms. The most popular export ceramics of the time were Imariyaki, Kutaniyaki, and Satsuma-yaki. The West favored the brightly colored, much gilded, glittering, and relatively large pieces, and these were exported widely. It is said that early Meissen designs were influenced by Chinese five-color porcelain and Japanese Imari ware.
Porcelain was originally developed in China, and royalty and nobility throughout Europe purchased it. However, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty in China, the export of porcelain stopped, and it was Japan that began exporting porcelain in place of China. This was in the mid-17th century.
It was around this time that ceramic works such as 'Ko-Imari', 'Iro-Nabeshima' and 'Kakiemon' were created.
It is said that about 1.9 million pieces of porcelain were shipped from Japan to Europe in the 30 years from 1652 to 1683.
Teapot made of Imari ware
Titel(s): Theepot met deksel, beschilderd met een Imari-decor
Datering: ca. 1730
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Antique Kutani-ware Teapot
It is said that fads come and go again, and a good example of this is the Renaissance, a cultural movement to revive the culture of classical antiquity that spread throughout Western Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries.
It is not uncommon for styles that were thought to be outdated and old-fashioned to once again become the focus of attention as fresh trends.
While modern, simple tea utensils are fine, we hope that a change in orientation will bring renewed attention to the use of antique tea utensils for tea ceremonies.
Enjoying the sight of beautiful tea utensils is another way to appreciate tea.
Along with the culture of tea, we hope that good tea utensils will be preserved for future generations as well.