This episode focuses on the colorful range of contemporary tea bowls being crafted in Kyoto Prefecture and the inspiration behind them. They include boldly colored examples influenced by traditional kimono patterns, bowls with lovely, gentle blue hues reminiscent of Ai-zome indigo dyeing, as well as some oddly shaped items. The contemporary bowls can trace their origins to Raku ware. We also take a look at some of the exquisite bowls fashioned by Nonomura Ninsei, a potter who lived in the early part of the Edo period (1603-1868), bowls produced in Kyoto during the subsequent Meiji period (1868-1912) in the manner of Satsuma ware and which gained devotees outside of Japan, and so-called Ido-chawan, the highly prized tea bowls that originated in Yi dynasty Korea (1392-1910).
