It is said that the beauty of the Joseon Dynasty sits in the colour of white. There is a silent and deep ambience in the white porcelain made during the periods of Korean Dynasties. The beauty seen in the tone of glazing on a large ample vase called a ‘full moon vase’ holds a particular potential, one that makes people forget all about the time and just stare at it.

The white of the Joseon Dynasty is the ’white of melancholiness’ – said the thinker Soetsu Yanagi. But it seems that some disagree. It is inevitable that things made by humans are influenced by the particular era. The spirit of Confucianism, which was the fundamental base for the political idea of regimen then, may well have been a source of influence, too. But when thinking of the hardiness of Korean people, I can sense a rich emotional rhythm and uplifting vibe in the white colour.

It was the era of a strict classism. The distinction between male and female was also strict. In such time, daily cultural items must have given people a little happiness. It must have not been a white colour. The glamour of full colours that sits opposite to white. There is something that characterises this particular period.

Kagakubari is a beautiful craftwork unique to Korea. Make bull’s horn into a thin sheet. Paint plant or flower patterns on the back of the sheet with Japanese pigment dissolved in Nikawa glue. And then decorate a case or furniture by applying the painted sheet over them. A collection can be seen closely at the National Museum of Korea or Koryo Museum in Kyoto, for instance, but superior Kagakubari must be the apple of the eye for Joseon Dynasty artefacts collectors. They are goods that decorated residences of high-ranked women. Indeed we can see inlaid mother-of-pearl as a decoration technique of lacquering in China or Japan, but this is different. Sometimes they appear in the set of Korean period dramas. Even though they are not actually from the Joseon Dynasty, their dynamic sense of colour using red, yellow and green is almost breathtaking.

Small items are decorated with this technique, and the beauty can reside even within a ruler and a quill. At times, I consider how this sensibility for expressing beauty became a habit. Is it something to do with the aspiration towards satisfaction as a response to the harsh cold weather of the Korean Peninsula? Is it something to do with the longing feeling towards the spiritual freedom only achieved through colours? The cultural items are also testaments to status or power. However, when living in a suppressed world, people must desire something that supports them spiritually.

Masato Kurotani, Director, genra art