Tradition
Oribe
Japan · Late 16th century – present
Green and bold. The tea master's wild side.
Named for a tea master executed for political intrigue, Oribe ware breaks every rule of Japanese restraint.
Furuta Oribe was a samurai, tea master, and student of Sen no Rikyū. Where Rikyū preferred austere black Raku bowls, Oribe embraced the unexpected: warped shapes, bold patterns, striking copper-green glazes splashed asymmetrically across the surface. The shapes seem almost to mock perfection—intentionally distorted, aggressively irregular. Oribe fell from political favor and was ordered to commit ritual suicide in 1615, but his aesthetic survived.
What rules might be worth breaking?
Techniques
- Copper glaze
- Intentional distortion
- Mixed decoration
- Stoneware