Thank-you note to the host of a tea ceremony from Furuta Oribe (1544-1615), a daimyō and tea master. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Loaned to the Japan Society. See translation in comments [6112×6112] [OC]
Thank-you note to the host of a tea ceremony from Furuta Oribe (1544-1615), a daimyō and tea master. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Loaned to the Japan Society. See translation in comments [6112×6112] [OC]
Furuta Oribe was a student and successor of the great tea master Sen no Rikyū (1522-1591). He is known for developing the Oribe school. of tea and for being the namesake of Oribe ware, a type of tea ceramics decorated with unexpected, semi-abstract pictorial motifs and vivid green and black glazes. Oribe had eccentric aesthetic preferences for his tea ceremonies and for art in general. Surviving correspondence reveals that his critical eye for painting, calligraphy, and ceramics was well respected among his peers in the warrior class. This letter captures Oribe’s idiosyncratic calligraphy style: his abbreviated cursive script shows dramatic contrasts between ink-saturated characters and light, dry writing. Extended diagonal brushstrokes jut out in several of the vertical lines. This dynamic tension in his casual yet skillfully controlled brush conveys his own aesthetic preference for asymmetry, imperfection, and refinement.
*I appreciate the tea you served yesterday morning.*
*I was especially impressed by the arrangements of the room where
you served the tea.*
*It is proper that I visit you to thank you, but there are many
gatherings of the aficionados lately, in which I have become
involved.*
*I hope you forgive my rudeness to thank you by letter.*
*I would like to talk more about that tea gathering when I meet you next time. Please do not bother to respond to this note.*
1 Comment
[display description, Japan Society loan](https://i.ibb.co/N6F4M9xB/20250327-142855.jpg)
[Letter
Furuta Oribe (1544-1615)
Muromachi period (1392-1573), c. 1544-1615
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Private Collection, New York
Furuta Oribe was a student and successor of the great tea master Sen no Rikyū (1522-1591). He is known for developing the Oribe school. of tea and for being the namesake of Oribe ware, a type of tea ceramics decorated with unexpected, semi-abstract pictorial motifs and vivid green and black glazes. Oribe had eccentric aesthetic preferences for his tea ceremonies and for art in general. Surviving correspondence reveals that his critical eye for painting, calligraphy, and ceramics was well respected among his peers in the warrior class. This letter captures Oribe’s idiosyncratic calligraphy style: his abbreviated cursive script shows dramatic contrasts between ink-saturated characters and light, dry writing. Extended diagonal brushstrokes jut out in several of the vertical lines. This dynamic tension in his casual yet skillfully controlled brush conveys his own aesthetic preference for asymmetry, imperfection, and refinement.
*I appreciate the tea you served yesterday morning.*
*I was especially impressed by the arrangements of the room where
you served the tea.*
*It is proper that I visit you to thank you, but there are many
gatherings of the aficionados lately, in which I have become
involved.*
*I hope you forgive my rudeness to thank you by letter.*
*I would like to talk more about that tea gathering when I meet you next time. Please do not bother to respond to this note.*
*First month, sixth day*
*Shigenari (Kakihan)]*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furuta_Oribe