Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) was a cultural figure active from the Momoyama period through to the early Edo period, who demonstrated his talent in a wide range of fields, including calligraphy, ceramics, lacquerware, publishing and the tea ceremony. Born into the Hon’ami family, whose family business was the appraisal of swords, he collaborated with artists such as Tawaraya Sōtatsu to cultivate a decorative and refined aesthetic sensibility that would later give rise to the Rimpa school. He established a gathering place for artists and craftsmen in Takamine, Kyoto, and left behind original works that transcended disciplinary boundaries, including Raku-yaki tea bowls, maki-e lacquerware and Saga-bon books.

Kōetsu’s works are characterised not by an overly polished beauty, but by a boldness that transforms the fluctuations in form and the negative space into a source of charm in their own right. In particular, his Raku tea bowls bear the traces of his hands working the clay, and each bowl exudes a strong sense of individuality. Kōetsu appears less as a craftsman who mastered a single technique, and more as a comprehensive artist who viewed calligraphy, pottery and crafts through the same aesthetic lens. I believe that Hon’ami Kōetsu’s greatest appeal lies in his freedom to transform materials into a new form of beauty through his own sensibility, whilst making the most of their natural qualities.