Two Books...

Two books fell into my lap recently; one more of a pamphlet that tackles a weighty subject, namely the Zen aesthetic term of wabi and its association with the chawan-tea bowl. Veteran Australian potter Milton Moon has put together 'Wabi and the Chawan' and its a gem of a 15-page monograph. Moon contacted me some months ago asking for photos and I sent over a few, ironically the first one in the pamphlet is a Ki-Seto chawan by Kagami Shukai. Others in the book are Kako Katsumi, Kakurezaki Ryuichi, Maruta Munehiko, and of course Moon's own chawan. The pamphlet was published by the Australian Ceramics Association and Milton Moon; web sites for both are www.australianceramics.com and www.miltonmoon.com
The other book was given to me last Saturday at a memorial service in Shizuoka city, see www.jerryyellin.com. The author of 'Japanese Military Sake Cups 1894-1945' Dan King was in attendance and was kind enough to sign a copy of his book for me. These small sake cups were used for all kinds of military purposes and the book notes these with many photos as well as prices of each piece. Published by Shiffer Publishing and available at amazon.com I do believe. Dan is a historian and his web site is http://www.historicalconsulting.com/