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Shino & Oribe: 21st-Century Expressions of 16th- Century Traditions
Dr. Andreas Marks, Mary Griggs Burke Curator of Japanese and Korean Art and Director of the Clark Center for Japanese Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art
The principle of supply and demand has been understood by humans for centuries. This economic model was the impetus for the birth of several new ceramic traditions in sixteenth-century Japan. The demand came from a rise in interest and a shift in taste in the formal practice of preparing and drinking powdered green tea (chanoyu), commonly known as the Japanese tea ceremony. Chinese antiques were preferred until the tea masters Sen no Rikyū (1521–1591) and his student Furuta Shigenari (aka Furuta Oribe; 1544–1615) codified and revolutionized tea by turning away from prized, imported utensils in favor of domestically manufactured objects that embodied a rustic aesthetic.
Military conflicts caused potters to relocate to Mino Province (today’s Gifu Prefecture) in the heart of Japan’s main island of Honshū, west of the then capital and cultural hub Kyoto. A growing market for tea ceramics in Kyoto prompted changes in kiln construction. Kilns were initially enlarged (ōgama), and around 1600, a new type of kiln was developed that ascended the side of a slope (noborigama). This innovation improved heat efficiency, allowing for increased production with a more economic use of natural resources. In this context, two new wares emerged: Shino and Oribe.
Shino ware is known for its thick, creamy-white glaze, textured with small holes, frequently applied over abstract floral designs painted in iron-brown. A substyle of Shino ware is Nezumi, or “mouse-gray” Shino, such as a plate decorated with grapevines, trellis, and a geometric design from the collection of Mary Griggs Burke at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (fig. 1). Oribe ware is typically characterized by a combination of copper-green glaze and stylized drawings on clay bodies with asymmetrical or distorted shapes. Some Oribe ware is black, while others are pink or red (fig. 2).
The precise origins of Shino and Oribe ware remain unknown, as do the names of their potters. The etymology of the terms is clouded, and even their taxonomy is debated. Some scholars argue that Shino is, in fact, a white-glazed variation of Oribe rather than a separate type of ceramic. Both wares flourished in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, but after a few decades, they were abandoned, victims of changing tastes. It took two hundred years for Oribe ware to reappear in the late Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji era (1868–1912), finding a new market in which to thrive. Ceramicists like Kitaōji Rosanjin (1883–1959), considered one of the premier potters of the twentieth century, soon began creating their own interpretations of Oribe (fig. 3).
It took another hundred years for Shino ware to be rediscovered. Mino-native Arakawa Toyozō (1894–1985), who had previously worked as an assistant to Rosanjin, returned to his home in 1930 and began researching the origins of Shino ware. After successful excavations revealed previously unknown facts about its history, Toyozō revived this classic style and was designated a Living National Treasure by the Japanese government in 1955 for his achievements. Toyozō’s own Shino tea bowls (chawan) are widely regarded as his most powerful works (fig. 4).
Rosanjin and Toyozō were part of a movement that sought to reinvigorate historical ceramics in Japan, which would influence the work of generations of ceramicists to come. The most exciting among them are not satisfied with reproducing period styles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but rather infuse their own ideas and personal modes of visual expression to the highly technical medium. In this dynamic realm, two exceptional talents shine: Gotō Hideki, an emerging star in the realm of Shino, and Higashida Shigemasa, a modern master of the Oribe tradition.
Living and working in two vastly different environments located approximately 200 miles (320 km) apart, Gotō and Higashida each explore the natural world in their own unique and distinctive styles. Gotō was born in a coastal town in Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan and relocated to the former Mino area in central Japan over two decades ago. Currently, he resides in Tajimi City, where he graduated in 1997 from the Department of Ceramics Science at the local technical high school. Following his graduation, Gotō began participating regularly in public exhibitions, and in 2012, his Shino tea bowl received the Encouragement Award at the nineteenth Mino Shōroku Tea Bowl Exhibition, a competitive event held until 2015 that garnered over two hundred submissions for each edition. In 2021, he earned an Honorable Mention at the prestigious twelfth International Ceramics Competition Mino.
Gotō regularly participates in solo and group exhibitions, primarily in Japan. Despite the fact that he now resides in an area surrounded by mountains, Gotō's artistic forms draw inspiration from his upbringing in a seaside town, a place of sentimental value that he often longs for. He has named the wave-like or shell-shaped sculptural form he developed as "Shino Watatsumi," which translates to "Shino Sea God," a title deeply rooted in Japanese legends.
In Shinto mythology, Watatsumi represents the spirit (kami) of the sea and is an alternate name for the dragon deity Ryūjin. Gotō's Watatsumi creations resemble seashells and capture the dynamic essence of the sea while maintaining a connection to the tradition of Shino ware. These elongated, stretched forms, characterized by their earthy textures and powerful ridges, exude a profound sense of tension. One might also envision his works as volcanic formations, with streaks of individually colored igneous rock emerging as the lava cooled following an eruption.
Higashida was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, located in the westernmost region of Japan’s main island Honshū. In 1978 he graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Shimonoseki City University and embarked on a career as a typical Japanese salaryman. Six years later, an encounter with a Buddhist fortune teller in Kyoto emboldened him to abandon his office job and pursue ceramics as a career path. Like Gotō (but a decade earlier), Higashida enrolled in the Tajimi Technical High School. After graduating in 1986, he built a studio in Koganei City in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where he has lived ever since. In 1989, he had his first solo exhibition in Japan and since 2000, his artworks have regularly been shown in solo and group exhibitions abroad, predominantly in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Captivated by Shino and Oribe traditions, Higashida fundamentally transforms these centuries-old art forms. His Oribe ware, characterized by vibrant flashes of orange, deep pooling of glaze, and contrasts between straight-cut and rugged surfaces, bring a new magic to this artform. The mustard yellow and lush green surfaces appear like landscapes with steep cliffs and craggy mountains. Higashida’s enchanting Oribe ceramics can be imagined as sculptural representations of the magical blue-green landscape paintings that emerged in Tang dynasty (618–907) China. Painters used malachite for the green and azurite for the blue; ingredients with magical associations through their use in the alchemical search for the elixir of immortality.
Higashida cannot completely control the thick pooling of the vibrant glaze, making every work a surprise when it comes out of the kiln. To me, who grew up in Europe, these pools of brilliant blue glaze evoke pristine Alpine lakes. Another innovation is his occasional use of orange, which provides an unexpected and vivid contrast with the verdant glaze. These orange accents might look like spontaneous occurrences, but to achieve them, Higashida developed a sophisticated technique. A glaze made from a small amount of iron silicate, feldspar, and salt is dissolved in water and then sprayed very sparingly on the surface with a compressor. The danger lies in the glaze turning chocolate brown in the biscuit firing and spoiling the contrasting effect. Oribe ware is usually fired in oxidation, but Higashida’s works require a precise balance of both oxidation and reduction firing to achieve the desired effects. A strong reduction firing creates a rich green, but the orange turns chocolate, whereas pure oxidation firing yields an intense orange, but the green becomes dull. Unpredictable firing effects cannot be prevented by Higashida, despite all his measures to control the outcome.
Further fascination is caused by Higashida’s many ways to reinterpret traditional vessel types which catapult the classical aesthetics of Oribe ware into the realm of contemporary sculpture. Lids of pots can be studied in topography, bowls are fired upside down for the glaze to create streaks, and vases can take spirited but outlandish forms. In his newest magical Oribe creations one can imagine architectural forms in perfect harmony with his typical rocky mountainous terrains.
Both Gotō and Higashida have gained an enthusiastic following, especially among private collectors in Japan. Although they continue to be active and create new works, their output is limited and finding their creations is difficult. Those who have and enjoy them are indeed fortunate.
