Tea Ceremony
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Tea Bowl, Named "Sawarabi (Sprouting Bracken)", Totoya type, Korea, Joseon dynasty, 16th–17th century (Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige)
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 4
February 2, 2021 (Tue) - April 25, 2021 (Sun)Tea drinking and its role in society changed over time. In the 12th century, Zen monks introduced a new kind of tea drinking from China: green tea was ground into a powder and mixed with hot water. Monks drank this tea as a medicine and to stay awake during meditation.
Before long, the samurai also began to drink tea and competed for prizes in blind tasting competitions. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the elite samurai who ruled Japan focused on the aesthetics of tea drinking. They collected valuable Chinese works like paintings and tea bowls, displaying and using them during tea gatherings.
A century later, Sen no Rikyū (1522–91) established the foundations of the tea ceremony. When serving tea, he used valuable Chinese works together with simple utensils. He also stressed humility and the beauty of imperfection. Elite samurai practiced his style and its variations as a social, aesthetic, and spiritual pursuit.
From its origins until the present, the tea ceremony has always incorporated diverse genres of art. Works that tea masters believed had great aesthetic or historical value were carefully passed down through the generations. A selection of these works is shown here and changed regularly to reflect the seasons.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Highlight | Tea Bowl, Named "Sawarabi (Sprouting Bracken)" | Totoya type, Korea | Joseon dynasty, 16th–17th century | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, TG-2713 | |||
| Highlight | Water Jar with Cherry Blossoms and a Stream | Jingdezhen ware, Kosometsuke type, China | Ming dynasty, 17th century | Private collection | |||
| Highlight | Important Art Object | Tea Kettle with Kerria Roses | Ashiya ware, Shinnari type | Muromachi period, 15th century | Lent by the Satoh Artcraft Research & Scholarship Foundation | ||
| Highlight | Container for Thin Tea with a Weeping Cherry Tree | Edo period, 17th century | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, H-4321 | ||||
| Tea Bowl, Named “Furisode (Swinging Sleeves)” | Mino ware, Shino type | Azuchi-Momoyama–Edo period, 16th–17th century | G-5749 | ||||
| Highlight | Flower Vase with a Side Opening, Named "Onjōji (Temple Name)" | Attributed to Sen no Rikyū (1522–91) | Azuchi-Momoyama period, 1590 (Tenshō 18) | Gift of Mr. Matsudaira Naoaki, G-4217-1 | |||
| Shallow Bowl with a Flowering Plant | Mino ware, Yellow-Seto type | Azuchi-Momoyama–Edo period, 16th–17th century | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, G-5311 |