Tea Ceremony
"Tea Ceremony"
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 | Amount | Creation Excavation | Period | Acquisition Ownership | Comment | |
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Kyōgenbakama-Style Tea Bowl, Named “Naniwazutsu” | Korea, Supposedly owned by Sen no Rikyū; passed down by the Konoike clan | Joseon dynasty, 17th century | TG-2969 | |||
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Incense Container in the Shape of a Temple Foundation Stone | Iga ware | Edo period, 17th century | G-193 | |||
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Cylindrical Tea Bowl, Named "Mitsudori (Three Birds)" | By Sa'nyū (1685–1739); Raku ware, black-Raku type | Edo period, 1733 | G-78 | |||
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Important Cultural Property | Poem from a Pilgrimage to Kumano | By Asukai Masatsune (1170–1221) | Kamakura period, 1200 | B-2404 | On exhibit through November 14, 2021 |
