Tea Ceremony
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Tea Bowl, Named "Kimura", Korea, Joseon dynasty, 16th–17th century (Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige)
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 4
April 23, 2024 (Tue) - July 15, 2024 (Mon)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.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Part of the "Collected Poems of Lady Ise" (One of the "Ishiyama Fragments") | Attributed to Fujiwara no Kintō (966–1041) | Heian period, 12th century | Gift of Mr. Matsunaga Yasuzaemon, B-2429 | On exhibit through June 2, 2024 | |||
| Highlight | Important Cultural Property | Poem (One of the "Tsugi-Shikishi Poem Papers") | Attributed to Ono no Tōfū (894–966) | Heian period, 10th century | B-3256 | On exhibit from June 4, 2024 | |
| Highlight | Tea Bowl, Named "Kimura" | Korea | Joseon dynasty, 16th–17th century | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, TG-2705 | |||
| Tea Bowl, Named "Toki Ido" | Korea | Joseon dynasty, 16th century | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, TG-2710 | ||||
| Highlight | Important Cultural Property | Flower Vase in the Shape of a "Cong" Ritual Vessel | Guan ware, China, Passed down by the Owari Tokugawa clan | Southern Song dynasty, 12th–13th century | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, TG-2167 | ||
| Highlight | Shallow Bowl with a Pine Tree | Mino ware, Shino style | Azuchi-Momoyama–Edo period, 16th–17th century | G-5765 | |||
| Pail-Shaped Tea Container with Lotuses and Herons | Jingdezhen ware, China, Passed down by the Kōnoike family | Ming–Qing dynasty, 17th century | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, TG-2601 |