Jar, white porcelain

h:47.6cm, w:47.0cm, Joseon dynasty (second half of the 17th – first half of the 18th century), Acc.No.22464, gift of Mr. Suzuki Masao

“White porcelain of the Joseon dynasty has a transparent shadow resembling marble. The walls were pressed outwards from the interior to make a swelling curve line, letting the streams of light play around on the smooth body surface. This is nothing but an effect of a sculpture. ”(Excerpt from Asakawa Noritaka, “Tsubo (Jar)”, Shirakaba, 1922)

During the period between the second half of the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century, large white porcelain jars were made extensively in imperial kilns. There are few examples, however, that has an everted lip. The well-balanced form, with the width almost equaling the height, and the dignified modeling, give the name “full-moon jar” in Korea. Asakawa Noritaka, who compared the distinctive silhouette of the body―the upper and lower sections of which were formed separately and luted later―to that of the human body, seemed to have sensed sculptural beauty within the jar.

Bowl, buncheong ware with brushed design

h:7.8cm, d:13.5cm, Joseon dynasty (second half of the 15th－16th century) Acc.No.22469, gift of Mr. Suzuki Masao

This bowl is one of the important tea bowls formerly owned by Asakawa Noritaka. The yellow clay body, the chocolate-colored surface after firing as well as the dynamic brush mark and the relatively small but firm foot rim are characteristics of Gyeryongsan ware. The term Gyeryongsan is derived from the location of the kiln, which was in Gongju, Chungchong-namdo. The wooden storage box bears an inscription of one of the notable tea masters of modern Japan, Kobayashi Ichizo (1873-1957), founder of Hankyu Railway Corporation, which can be translated: “Shin-ryogoku (name of the tea bowl) treasured here, Itsuou (pseudonym of Kobayashi Ichizo)”.

Distribution Map of Kiln Sites (Bunwon-ri and its vicinity)

Ink and light color on paper
61.0×41.8cm, Acc.No.52644, gift of Mr. Suzuki Masao

Gongju was the region in which the imperial kiln was located and thus plays a pivotal role in the studies of Korean ceramics. In his book Ri-cho no Toki (‘Ceramics of the Joseon Dynasty’, Zauho Kankokai, 1956), Noritaka mentions in the section titled “Koshu-gun no Kama-ato Chizu (Map of Kiln Sites in Gongju)” that the area was blessed with rich natural environment surrounded by mountains and fields, and was an appropriate station for water transport, which made the area function as an imperial kiln for approximately 450 years. This map, hand-drawn by Noritaka himself on Korean traditional hand-made paper, shows the distribution of the major sites of the Gongju imperial kiln (Bunwon-ri and its vicinity). The drawing, with mountains and rivers in bright colors and unconstrained, relaxed outlines, aptly represents the geographical characteristics of Gongju while also rendering a pictorial charm.