Letter with a Poem about Kettle and Lid - Furuta Oribe

A fine art print of a calligraphic letter by the influential Japanese tea master Furuta Oribe, featuring a poem regarding a kettle and lid.

This piece displays the calligraphic hand of Furuta Oribe, a figure of immense influence in the development of the Japanese tea ceremony. Oribe succeeded Sen no Rikyu as the leading tea master of his era, bringing a distinct aesthetic sensibility to the practice. Unlike the austere and restrained style favoured by his predecessor, Oribe championed a more expressive, asymmetrical, and occasionally eccentric approach to tea utensils and the surrounding environment.

The document itself is a letter containing a poem that references a kettle and its lid. The brushwork is fluid and rapid, characteristic of the 'so' or cursive style of Japanese calligraphy. The characters flow across the paper with a sense of spontaneity, reflecting the personal nature of the correspondence. The ink density varies, creating a rhythm that guides the eye through the text. The paper is mounted on a scroll, framed by silk borders that feature subtle, repeating patterns, typical of the presentation of such documents in a tea room setting.

In the context of Oribe's life, such letters were not merely functional communications. They were extensions of the tea master's persona and his philosophy of 'Oribe-yaki' or Oribe ware, which valued the beauty found in imperfection and the unexpected. The poem about the kettle and lid suggests a preoccupation with the tools of the tea ceremony, which were central to his social and professional life. This print captures the essence of a historical moment, preserving the personal touch of a man who reshaped the cultural landscape of late sixteenth-century Japan. It offers a glimpse into the private thoughts of a master whose aesthetic choices continue to inform the study of Japanese ceramics and tea culture today.