4 Things You Must Know About Yohen Tenmoku Tea Cup

1.What is yohen Tenmoku tea cup

Yohen is a unique and accidental kiln reaction phenomenon. Yohen means “stars” and “flashing” in Japanese and Chinese, so the teacup named after Yohen is a very shiny black glazed teacup with many irregular flares.

Under the light, a dazzling blue light is emitted around it. When you hold the cup in your hand, it is like the universe in your palm.

During the Song Dynasty in ancient China, many Japanese monks came to China to study Buddhism. There are many temples in Tenmoku Mountain, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and many Japanese monks came to practice here. These monks not only learned Buddhism but also learned tea ceremonies.

When Japanese monks returned to their country, they brought back the tea ceremony and utensils they learned in the temple. Because the black-glazed tea cups were brought back from the temples in Tenmoku Mountain, they were collectively called tenmoku cups.

Therefore, the Yohen tenmoku tea cup is a black-glazed tea bowl with shining light and is named because it was introduced to Japan from the tenmoku mountain.

2. The features of the yohen tenmoku tea bowl

The yohen tenmoku tea bowl in Song Dynasty has two characteristics: one is that it has round spots, and the other is that the spots are surrounded by blue brilliance, which is very strange.
1) Round spot. The round spot of yohen is similar to that of oil spot cup but has its uniqueness. Most Yohen’s spots are nearly circular, clustered in groups, dark inside the spots, as deep as “black holes” in the universe, and surrounded by halos outside the spots.
2) Blue light around the spot. It is generally believed that during the firing process of the yohen tenmoku cup, under the action of special conditions, a very thin iron-based crystalline film will be formed. Under the action of this film, the teacup will appear rainbow-like color when facing the light

3. Why yohen tenmoku cups are precious

1) Difficulty of firing

Yohen tenmoku cup is difficult to fire. The key is that it is difficult to control the temperature in the kiln. If the temperature slightly deviates, the firing process will fail.

Moreover, the patterns formed by the fired works are also ever-changing due to the subtle temperature changes, so each cup can be called unique. And because the raw material used is the local red clay in Jianyang, its plasticity is poor.

Under the high temperature of 1300 degrees, it is easy to deform, crack and blister, so the qualified rate of the products is low, and many of them are regarded as unqualified and destroyed before selling.

2) Manufacturing process lost

After the Yuan Dynasty, the Chinese people’s way of drinking tea changed. The tea-brewing method gradually replaced the Diancha method. This made the blue and white porcelain fired in Jingdezhen favored. The way of tea drinking changed, and Jianzhan is not as important as before, which is the main reason for Jianzhan’s decline.

The second is the change of aesthetic concept. Before the Song Dynasty, tea sets were very simple and elegant. After the Yuan Dynasty, the luxurious blue and white porcelain tea sets became more popular. Coupled with the destruction of society by the war, the Jian kilns finally stopped burning in the Ming Dynasty, so the craftsmanship of yohen tenmoku was also lost. Although there are attempts to imitate it in modern times, it can’t be restored.

4. The only 3 intact yohen tenmoku cups left in the world

Among the cultural relics officially recognized by Japan as national treasures, there are only 14 pieces of porcelain, 8 of which are Chinese porcelain, and the only 3 intact yohen tenmoku cups left in the world are Japanese national treasures, which are collected in Ryukoin Temple, Seikado bunko art museum, Fujita Art Museum.

1) yohen tenmoku cup collected by seikado bunko art museum.

Height: 6.8cm, Diameter: 12.0cm, Weight: 284g
This yohen tenmoku cup is the brightest and most colorful of the three intact Song Dynasty yohen teacups, and it is the most precious collection of the Seikado bunko art museum.

The cup body is dark as the base color. The halo color on the cup liner will also change with the different lights around. The oil spots are scattered in the night sky like stars, so it is called “the first bowl in the world.

2) yohen tenmoku cup collected by Fujita Art Museum

The inside of this cup has fantastic iridescent colors. When there is no light, the cup liner is dark black, and the surface looks rough. The yohen pattern on it is dense and dazzling.

The surface of the cup has rabbit hair stripe , just like meteor shower, which gives you a wonderful feeling. It is like the night sky on a summer night and makes you think about the mysteries of the universe.

3) yohen tenmoku cup collected by Ryukoin Temple

Unlike the first two, this cup is rarely on public display, so it’s hard to see the real cup. Looking at the picture’s color, many people will think this yohen cup is the worst of the three.

However, It has its unique place. The oil spot markings on the liner show halos as the light rotates. The unique purple-blue halo appears, just like a star-studded starry sky. Although it is not as dazzling as the other two, it also has a serene beauty.

5. Summary

Although the craftsmanship of yohen tenmoku tea cup has been lost, its beauty has remained. We should thank these talented craftsmen for bringing such beautiful works of art into the world.