Japan Spirit and Form #6: Japanese Tea Bowls

“The Cosmos in the Hand” is the sixth episode of the NHK series, “Japan: Spirit and Form” and it focuses entirely on Japanese tea bowls, a subject that is apparently very close to the heart of the series host, Shuichi Kato, who spends more time on camera here than in any other episode so far. We see a great deal of Japanese potter Kichizaemon Raku XV, the latest in a long line of Japanese ceramicists, as he makes a tea bowl from start to finish, and is interviewed by Kato in one key sequence, all in Japanese with English subtitles. The roots of Japanese pottery in Chinese ceramics is explored as is the influence of Japanese pottery on European artists and potters, including one Frenchman, Claude Champi, who is interviewed. If you like this program, please also visit my channel to see "Japanese Tea Ceremony (vintage color film)" and other titles devoted to Japanese art and culture.