This was something Yilin already understood from a logical standpoint. When starting something, rather than trying to do everything alone, delegating tasks to those who excelled in each field allowed them to further hone their skills and resulted in a higher-quality product.
Seeing Yilin fall silent, Aoi hurriedly added, “Oh, but I think it’s fine to be proud of yourself when it comes to hobbies. I’m like that with pottery, after all.”
“I know. I guess this is also ‘three-way satisfaction,’ huh?”
“Yeah.” Aoi smiled.
“Also, what you said reminded me of Carnegie.”
“As in Carnegie Hall?”
“Yes, its namesake, ‘Steel King’ Andrew Carnegie. He was one of the richest people in the world. His grave is inscribed with the words ‘Here lies a man who knew how to enlist in his service better men than himself.’ Carnegie requested it himself, wanting to express that he himself was nothing special—he simply had the skill to gather those who were. He achieved his incredible success by delegating work to the right people. You can’t reach those heights alone.”
Carnegie was said to have excelled at winning over people’s hearts. He valued praising people and recognized even the smallest achievements. His policies included “let people come up with their own ideas” and “remember and say people’s names.” These sounded like things that anyone could do, but Yilin rarely encountered someone who practiced them naturally. Kiyotaka seemed like he might meet the requirements, but he tended to address people as “you” instead of using their names.
Thinking about it, perhaps Yilin only knew one person who fit the bill. She stared at the other girl in the store. “Aoi, you have the makings of Carnegie.”
“What?” Aoi burst out laughing. “I’ve only just learned how to request help from people who are more skilled than me. Anyway, shall we have a study session before we assemble the display?”
“Yes, please.” Yilin nodded cheerfully.
The two moved to the counter. Aoi washed her hands, then took out a reference book and flipped through the pages.
“There are currently eight tea bowls designated as national treasures in Japan, and one of them is a Shino tea bowl,” she explained.
The book featured a photo captioned “Shino tea bowl, named Unohanagaki (Mitsui Memorial Museum).” The pictured item was taller than Kura’s Shino tea bowl and exhibited Shino ware’s characteristic distorted form and smooth texture.
“By the way, these are the other national treasure tea bowls,” Aoi said, pointing to a list on the page.
1. Yohen tenmoku tea bowl, Inaba tenmoku (Seikado Bunko Art Museum)
2. Yohen tenmoku tea bowl (Fujita Art Museum)
3. Yohen tenmoku tea bowl (Ryuko-in Temple)
4. Yuteki tenmoku tea bowl (Museum of Oriental Ceramics)
5. Taihi tenmoku tea bowl (Shokoku-ji Temple Jotenkaku Museum)
6. Ido tea bowl, named Kizaemon (Koho-an Temple)
7. Shino tea bowl, named Unohanagaki (Mitsui Memorial Museum)
8. Raku ware, shirokatamigawari tea bowl, named Fuji-san (Sunritz Hattori Museum of Arts)
Among these, Yilin was most familiar with the yohen tenmoku tea bowls. The three of them had been the highlight of the exhibition at Shanghai Museum. It was easy to see why they were dubbed “the universe in tea bowls”—with their beautiful spotted patterns that resembled blue nebulae, they truly deserved their national treasure designation.
The yuteki tenmoku tea bowl was a golden nebula rather than blue. It was extravagant yet chic, and Yilin found it beautiful as well.
The taihi tenmoku tea bowl was an elegant piece with a striking tortoiseshell pattern. It was slightly smaller than the other tenmoku tea bowls.
The ido tea bowl was a simple yellowish-brown hue. One could say that it possessed profound depth. According to Aoi, this tea bowl was rumored to curse anyone who held it, making their face swell up.
Then there was the Shino tea bowl, which Aoi had already explained to her.
Last but not least, the Raku tea bowl, which had a white upper half and a black lower half. It was made of white clay and used white glaze, which was rare for Raku ware. The lower half’s color had been the result of accidental carbonization within the kiln. As with the yohen tenmoku tea bowls, such accidents could sometimes produce masterpieces.
This Raku tea bowl had been created by Koetsu Hon’ami as a wedding gift for his daughter. It was also known as the “furisode tea bowl” because he’d wrapped it in a furisode kimono when he’d given it to her.
In the book, “Raku” was written with a different character than usual. Curious, Yilin asked Aoi about it, and she explained that its cultural property registration had used this character.
Yilin reviewed the photos of the eight tea bowls. “It’s no wonder they’re national treasures. They have the dignified aura of masterpieces.”
“Yeah. Actually, tenmoku and ido tea bowls were introduced to Japan from China and Korea, so the only purely domestic tea bowls in this list are Shino and Raku. I think it’s safe to say that Japanese people who love antique art and ceramics consider these two special.”
Yilin hummed. “I had the impression that Japanese people are reserved, or rather, they don’t express their patriotism as strongly as people from other countries. But hearing this, I can feel the passion they hold for their country’s art.”
“Yes, I think we take pride in our country’s art and craftsmanship.”
Yilin realized the intent behind the display. She would be staying in Japan for about a year, during which she was bound to interact with connoisseurs like Takamiya. Knowing about Japan’s eight national treasure tea bowls, particularly the two that were special, would undoubtedly prove useful.
“Thank you, Aoi,” she said.
“Oh, no need to thank me. Now then, shall we set up the display? I hope it interests people who pass by.”
After hanging the words “National Treasure Tea Bowls and Kura’s Showpieces” from the ceiling, they began affixing the photographs—eight national treasures plus Kura’s celadon jar and Shino tea bowl—to the bamboo screen. The plan was to decorate the spaces in between with red leaves since it was autumn.
Yilin giggled as she picked up the picture of the idol tea bowl. “I didn’t know tea bowls could be cursed too.”
“Now that you mention it, you don’t hear that often with tea bowls, huh?”
“Yes, it’s usually dolls, chairs, or jewels...”
Suddenly, her father’s request crossed her mind. A rare jewel... In the end, I still don’t know what that was about.