Japanese tea utensils

Equipment and utensils used in Japanese tea ceremony

Tea utensils ([[wikt:茶道具) are the tools and utensils used in chadō, the art of Japanese tea. Tea utensils can be divided into five major categories:

A wide range of utensils, known collectively as dōgu, is necessary for even the most basic tea ceremony. Generally, items which guests prepare themselves with for attending a [[Japanese tea ceremony gathering are not considered chadōgu; rather, the term fundamentally applies to items involved to "host" a chanoyu gathering. This article, however, includes all forms of implements and paraphernalia involved in the practice of chanoyu. High end utensils are cherished, well preserved and documented and serve as historical artifacts. The honorary title Senke Jusshoku is given to the ten artisans that provide the utensils for the events held by the three primary iemoto Schools of Japanese tea known as the san senke. Utensils used for sencha are different, using a usually five piece set of small cups, a small pot and a small cup to pour hot water. These utensils are typically ceramic.

In Japan, cherished items are customarily stored in purpose made wooden boxes. Valuable items for tea ceremony are usually stored in such a box, and in some cases, if the item has a long and distinguished history, several layers of boxes: an inner storage box (uchibako), middle storage box (nakabako), and outer storage box (sotobako). The storage boxes for tea implements are not tea equipment in themselves, but still hold importance in the practice of chanoyu, as the boxes used for particularly old and distinguished objects often feature inscriptions which serve to validate their history and provenance.

Ash, known as (灰), appears most commonly in chanoyu in the portable brazier (furo), the sunken hearth (ro) which may be used in a tea room in the cold season, and the container for the lighter fire in the smoking set (hiire). In tea ceremony, ash serves as a protective bed for the charcoal fire. Great care is given to the quality and appearance of the ash, and there are different kinds of ash for different purposes. They include the following:

– used as "sprinkling ash" (蒔灰) to decorate the sculpted ash in a brazier. It is a beautiful, smooth white ash produced by burning wisteria bean pods. – a dry ash specially prepared to have a smooth texture free from visible impurities. This is the main kind of ash used in portable braziers. – produced by burning the shells of water caltrops. It is a smooth reddish brown ash mainly used in the container for the lighter fire in the smoking set. – the slightly damp ash used in the sunken hearth. – sticks of roasted straw. The black warabai is neatly arranged on top of the ash in the brazier. This is reserved for the final days of the brazier season and the use, at that time, of a worn looking metal brazier (yatsureburo). Warabai is also used in hand warmers (teaburi) and hibachi.

(灰器) is a shallow bowl used by the host to carry the ash into the tea room for the charcoal laying procedure (sumidemae). It carries the "sprinkling ash" (makibai) for the procedure in the case of a portable brazier (furo), and the "moist ash" (shimeshibai) for the procedure in the case of a sunken hearth (ro). The styles for these are different.

The (灰匙) is a spatula like implement mainly used to shape the ash in the portable brazier (furo), or to sprinkle ash during the charcoal laying procedure.

(炭) refers to the charcoal used in chanoyu. Sumi for the most part is made of chestnut leaved oak (kunugi), carbonized by long hours of smoldering in a kiln. The long pieces of finished charcoal are cut into specific lengths for use; the lengths differing depending upon whether the charcoal will be used in a brazier or sunken hearth. In addition, a unique kind of charcoal called is used in chanoyu for its artistic effect. It is produced by charring twigs of azalea, camellia, or some variety of oak, and then coating them with a lime substance made of powdered seashells.

The (炭斗/炭取) is the container in which the host places the charcoal and charcoal laying implements for transporting them to and from the tea room for the charcoal laying procedure. Many sumitori are made of basketry.

(箱炭斗) is a charcoal container used in the preparation room, and not considered a formal piece of equipment. It is brought into the tea room if the charcoal in the portable brazier or sunken hearth requires replenishing. It is box shaped, has a handle, and is made of wood—usually mulberry wood.

(羽箒) is a feather broom with a number of styles. The kind composed of three layered feathers and referred to therefore as (三つ羽) is used to dust off the portable brazier or sunken hearth during the charcoal laying procedure. It is part of the set of equipment carried into the tea room with the charcoal container (sumitori). Other kinds of feather brooms are used for sweeping the tea room.

(香合) is a small lidded container for the incense that is added to the charcoal fire during the charcoal laying procedure. For the kneaded incense (nerikō) that is used in a sunken hearth (ro), the container is generally made of ceramic. For the chips of incense wood (kōboku) used in a portable brazier (furo), it is generally made of lacquer ware or plain wood. There are also incense containers made of clam shells.

A choshi or kannabe is a kettle resembling a teapot used for warming and serving sake. They are made of iron, tin or pottery.

(also known as (扇)) are carried by all participants in a chanoyu ceremony as a sign of respect. It is not opened and used for fanning. The fan, in its closed state, is placed in front of oneself when making formal statements or expressions of thanks, respect, apology, and such. During the main portions of a tea ceremony in which they are seated on the floor, guests place their fans on the floor directly behind themselves for instant use when required. For men, the standard length of sensu meant for tea ceremony is approximately (6 寸); for women, it is approximately (5 寸). If the circumstance involves being seated on the floor, the closed fan is placed on the floor in front of the knees, leaving enough space in between to place the hands for the attendant bow. If the circumstance involves being in a standing position, the closed fan is held in the right hand, against the front of the right thigh, paired with the left hand which is held against the front of the left thigh, for the standing bow. The fan is normally tucked in the obi, to be available for instant use when required.

(sometimes shortened to furosaki). A relatively low folding screen of two panels, which is set in the corner at the head end of the tea making tatami in cases when the tea making is done in a room larger than 4.5 tatami in floor space. A low fence like device set at the head end of the tea making tatami in cases when the tea making is done in a room larger than 4.5 tatami in floor space or in an open area such as outdoors.

, the tray or box for the smoking set that the host provides the guests in the waiting room, at the waiting arbor, and in the tea room at the time of the "thin tea" service (usucha temae). , a container for the lit charcoal that serves as the lighter. Usually made of ceramic. The tabakobon holds this hiire. (灰吹), a bamboo tube that serves as the ash receptacle. The tabakobon holds this haifuki. (煙管), a long stemmed smoking pipe. The host provides this with the tabakobon.

(茶碗) are bowls used for making and drinking matcha tea. They can be classified by country of origin, by potter or kiln, by shape, or by the type of tea they are designed to hold.

Tea containers refers to the small lidded caddies that are used to hold the powdered green tea (matcha) for the tea making procedure (temae) in chanoyu. The term (茶器) literally translates as "tea implement," but in the vocabulary of chanoyu it usually implies the small lidded caddies that are used to hold the matcha for the tea making procedure for usucha (thin tea). All tea containers for usucha may be called usucha ki. Usucha ki usually are of lacquered or plain wood, although not necessarily so. Commonly they are of a variety of shape called natsume, and so all usucha ki tend to be loosely referred to as natsume. Natsume and other forms of usucha ki are classified by size or shape. The ceramic caddies usually used to hold the powdered green tea for the procedure to make koicha (thick tea) are basically referred to as also called tea spoon(s), are used to transfer the powdered tea from the tea container (chaki) to the tea bowl (chawan). Typically, tea scoops are made of a narrow, thin piece of bamboo, although there are also those made of wood or ivory. They are generally about in length. The original ones imported to Japan from China were ivory. Tea masters in Japan have traditionally carved their own bamboo chashaku, providing them with a bamboo storage tube (tsutsu) as well as a poetic name ( (銘)) that will often be inscribed on the storage tube. The selection of the chashaku for use at a chanoyu gathering will largely depend on its poetic name.

([[:ja:柄杓) is a long bamboo ladle with a nodule in the approximate center of the handle. It is used to pour hot water into the tea bowl from the iron pot (kama) and to transfer cold water from the fresh water container to the iron pot when required. A tetsubin does not require the use of a hishaku. Different styles are used for different ceremonies and in different seasons. A larger version that is made of cypress wood is used for the ritual rinsing of hands and mouth by guests before entering the tea room, or for use by the host in the back preparation area of the tea room (mizuya), in which case it distinguished as mizuya bishaku.

(茶筅) are bamboo whisks used to prepare matcha. They are hand carved from a single piece of bamboo. There are differences in their style according to the type of bamboo they are made from, the shape of the tines, the number of tines, the thickness of the bamboo, the length of the bamboo, the color of the thread that is woven around the bottom of the tines, and so on. Different schools of prefer different styles and employ different styles depending on the particular kind of tea or tea preparation style for which it is to be used. For instance, there are specific styles for preparing thin tea (usucha), thick tea (koicha), tea offerings in tea bowls, tea in tall cylindrical tea bowls, for including in a portable boxed tea set (chabako), for outdoor tea making, for New Year's, and for other special auspicious occasions. There are also styles such as the Sen no Rikyū model; 利休形; "Rikyū gata"; the style attributed to Sen no Rikyū's son Dōan and referred to as the (道安好) style, and other such "favored" ( (好)) styles of famous tea masters, so that the styles have continued to increase. Generally, the kind used for whisking thin tea (usucha) has 80, 100, or 120 fine tines, typically carved out of a flexible but robust bamboo such as Phyllostachys bambusoides (known as kashirodake or madake).