Shino Tea Bowl with Bridge and Shrine, Known as “Bridge of the Gods” (Shinkyō)

This tea bowl depicts an arching bridge on the front and a Shinto shrine on the back. The bridge is rendered with two parallel lines, its pillars suggested by four vertical strokes. Brown iron oxide, applied beneath the thick white glaze, creates the impression of a mist-shrouded landscape. Comparable Shino tea bowls have been linked to the literary classic The Tale of Genji—specifically, the chapter “The Divine Princess at Uji Bridge” (Hashihime), which recounts the legend of a female deity who guards the crossing over the Uji and is venerated at Hashihime Shrine on the river’s western bank. Under the painted bridge, an unglazed area marks the spot where the potter’s finger held the bowl while dipping it into the glaze: his subtle “fingerprint” left on the front as a trace of its making.