Holmes of Kyoto: Volume 19 [Parts 1 to 4] by Mai Mochizuki

Author:Mai Mochizuki
Language: eng
Format: epub

5

“This is an Oido tea bowl,” Holmes explained.

A talisman had been laid underneath the tea bowl from the storehouse. After the whole commotion, Reito had purified the room—and us—and we were now back in the Japanese-style room from earlier, listening to what Holmes had to say.

“Oido tea bowls are the largest and grandest of Ido tea bowls, which are one of the favorites of Japanese tea ceremony masters. In fact, there’s even a saying that goes, ‘First Ido, second Raku, third Karatsu.’ The most famous Oido tea bowl is Kizaemon, named after Kizaemon Takeda, a merchant who once owned it.”

Reito and Tatsuo hummed. As for me, I had seen an Oido tea bowl at an art exhibition before, and Holmes had taught me about Ido tea bowls at that time. But this was my first time seeing one in the wild.

“It’s said that Kizaemon Takeda developed boils all over his body just from having the Oido tea bowl, yet he still refused to part with it for his entire life. The people who owned it after him were also afflicted with boils.”

Tatsuo’s eyes widened in surprise.

“In the end, it reached the hands of Fumai Matsudaira, a tea master and feudal lord of the Edo period, but he, too, developed boils. And when his son inherited Oido Kizaemon, the same boils appeared on him.”

I looked at the tea bowl. “Does that mean this is...”

“Yes, I suspect that it was fired in the same kiln as Oido Kizaemon.”

“In other words, they have the same creator, yes?” Reito asked.

“Most likely.” Holmes lowered his gaze. “Ido tea bowls were produced in what is now the Korean Peninsula, during the Yi dynasty. They were highly valued in Japan because they caught the eye of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, but in Korea, they were treated as tools for everyday use. That’s why we don’t know who their creators were.”

Indeed, it was Hideyoshi Toyotomi who had made Ido tea bowls known to the world. There was a story about him that went as follows.

Hideyoshi once invited Yusai Hosokawa and others to a tea ceremony he was holding. There, a page made a careless blunder and broke Hideyoshi’s prized Ido tea bowl, which was called Izutsu. Hideyoshi was furious and tried to kill the page, but Yusai Hosokawa intervened by reciting a poem on the spur of the moment: “Compared to before, the Izutsu tea bowl is split into five, but allow me to bear the punishment.”

It was a play on a famous poem from The Tales of Ise: “I compared my height with the well curb (izutsu), and in the time I have not seen you, I have surpassed it.” Thanks to Yusai Hosokawa’s quick wit, Hideyoshi’s mood quickly improved, and the ceremony ended without incident.

Whether it was Kizaemon or Izutsu, Ido tea bowls had dramatic stories associated with them. That was probably the secret to their lasting popularity.

Reito was staring intently at the Oido tea bowl.

“Do you know who made it?” Holmes asked.

The exorcist shook his head apologetically. “I cannot identify a specific person.

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