碗 · Bowl with Brushing Decorations

This type of wide-mouthed bowl was used everyday in Korea, not exclusively for tea drinking. But when it was introduced to Japan around the early 1500s, its imperfect appearance evoking the aesthetics of wabi-sabi caused it to be repurposed as a tea bowl. Korean tea bowls were circulated as an item of foreign luxury among Japanese military elites. Many Korean potters were abducted to Japan during the Japanese invasions (1592–98) and some settled down in provinces such as in the Saga prefecture in Kyushu. Dislocated Korean potters are often credited for their leading role in the development of ceramic industry in Japan.