This is limited edition only available in autumn and winter season.
(Please note: Because this item is made-to-order, it takes approximately 3 weeks from the time you order this item until the date it is shipped from Kyoto, Japan. Once ordered, any order change or cancel can NOT be accepted. If you order this item with other items, they will be shipped together.)
The Tale of Genji is one of the oldest novels in the world. Written by noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu of the Japanese Imperial Court, this novel is composed of 54 stories and more than 800 WAKA Japanese poems.
The work recounts the life of Hikaru Genji, from his birth to death, and afterward. Through the book, Murasaki describes the life of aristocracy, romance in the Imperial Court, and political disputes. She expertly portrays the internal emotion and expression of each character of her novel.
We, Hibiki-an have collaborated with Zenshoh Yamaoka, who is the leading expert of paintings derived from masterpieces in the middle ages and acclaimed Kyo Yaki artisan, to release a series of Matcha bowls featuring the Tale of Genji. Zenshoh Yamaoka selected 12 stories out of 54, one suitable for each month of the year, arranged by season.
Zenshoh Yamaoka expresses luxury and elegance in the palace, the secrets of human nature in each scene, and WABI-SABI aesthetic during this time, by making full use of various techniques. For example, in order to portray the gorgeous scenes of the Imperial Court, he uses luxurious gold to paint clouds, Japanese traditional cloth KIMONO, auspicious ornaments and so forth. This effect characterizes the affluent lifestyle of the Japanese Imperial Court during this period and makes the Matcha bowl brilliant. Clouds are one of the key features of the bowl. Clouds are frequently used in Japanese traditional painting to separate and define space and time. The use of golden clouds makes this Matcha bowl bright and luxurious.
This Matcha bowl portrays a scene where the Imperial Court was in collapse after Hikaru Genji's withdrawal and he was thus asked to return to the palace. On his way back to the Imperial Court, he visits a shrine to express his thanks of return with his carriage in autumn. On this short trip, while passing through a grove of maple trees with autumn leaves changing from orange to red, he happens to meet a woman he once loved many years ago. She loved him too, but married another man, and moved to another place. Hikaru Genji recited a poem that their meeting was not a coincidence but fate and he was thinking of her always, though they had not spoken in many years. She felt overwhelmed, but consented to reply to his poem in the end.
SEKIYA means "the frontier" in Japanese. The bowl expresses the scene that Hikaru Genji and a woman met at the hill of OSAKA, meaning "hill of meeting" in Japanese. On the contrary to the joy of an accidental meeting, Zenshoh Yamaoka focused on the nostalgia between them, and autumn season emphasizes its sorrow. Each of them took a carriage and moved to the destination. When Hikaru Genji passed by the hill, she hid in the shade of autumn trees with her carriage, but he found her. Red autumn leaves and autumn flowers such as thoroughwort flowers, bush clover and Japanese pampas grass which bloom on the hill add beauty to the bowl. Gold color not only evokes elegance but also implies that the hill becomes autumnal. On the inside of the bowl, full bloom of red color maple leaves are painted, and the color of gold emphasizes its elegance. It also gives the perception of depth. The color orange on the interior of the bowl is from a traditional technique known as GOHONDE, and its color reminds us of the autumn season.
You can sense not only the beauty of the autumn scene and WABI-SABI of autumn flowers, but also the elegance of the aristocracy and the emotions between the two characters. It seems that autumn flowers painted sorrowfully express their feelings.
We are certain that you will enjoy drinking Matcha from this elegant bowl, but also feel the nostalgic human emotion characterized by the autumn season.