Page 371 - JAPAN THE SHAPING OFDAIMYO CULTURE 1185-1868

brew and the cup, the teabowl is designed tests, water was boiled in a large kettle and legs of early kettles and was adopted later
for direct, personal contact. The diameter then transferred to a covered serving con- as a popular design for kettle lugs.
of a teabowl is considerably larger than a tainer, which was then used to pour hot The contrast of materials, shapes, and
teacup and one's face literally enters into water over the powdered tea. In other in- textures of utensils used in a tea gathering
the teabowl as it is engulfed by the wide stances, hot water was used directly from presents a curious phenomenon. Compare
rim. One does not just hold a Raku tea- kettles that were usually placed in a sepa- the immense weight of the kettle with the
bowl, one is embraced by it. JIK rate room or corridor away from the delicate, almost airy quality of the bamboo
guests. tea scoop. It is part of a tea student's train-
As part of the prototypical method for ing to handle all utensils with equal re-
286 Teabowl serving tea, water was boiled in a large, tra-
Raku Sónyú (1664-1716) ditional kitchen kettle and then trans- spect and care. In his didactic poems,
diam. 12.1 (43/4) ferred to a covered container that was Rikyü suggested that heavy utensils
should be skillfully
so as to appear
lifted
Edo period used to pour hot water over the powdered be almost weightless, and, similarly, that to
Eisei Bunko, Tokyo tea already in the bowl. Kettles for boiling light utensils should not be carelessly
water were usually placed in a separate waved around, but thoughtfully handled,
The fifth-generation Raku potter, Sonyu, room or corridor away from the guests.
was adopted by the Raku family at the age Gradually the kettle moved to the tearoom as if they possessed a secret weight.
During a tea gathering, after the char-
of two from a wealthy Kyoto family. He where tea was prepared directly in front of coal has been added and the fire begins to
was a cousin to the famous brothers, Kôrin the guests. It was at this point that the
(1658-1716) and Kenzan (1663-1743). mere kitchen utensil began to achieve a light below the kettle, a murmur can be
Kórin was a famous Edo-period painter level of creative artistry. heard building in the quiet, enclosed space
of the
Tea people compare this
tearoom.
and designer in the Rinpa style. Kenzan, The Hosokawa family collection in- heated whispering of the kettle to the
the younger, is remembered best for his cludes eight old tea kettles. All seem to be sound of the wind through the pines. JIK
ceramic wares. There is still no clear expla- a different shape and variety and come
nation why the fourth-generation potter, from different localities throughout Japan.
Ichinyu, adopted a son despite the fact (Experts believe that this random sam- 288 Tea scoop
that he had already had a son born to him. pling was deliberate.) The kettle shown Sen no Rikyü (1522-1591)
A family conflict ensued, and the natural- here, with a pattern of pine, bamboo, and bamboo
born son, Ichigen, left the Raku family plum, was made in Ashiya, situated in 1.17.7(7)
with his mother and established his own present-day Fukuoka Prefecture. At the Momoyama period
kiln. time this kettle was cast the two major Eisei Bunko, Tokyo
This red Raku teabowl is shown with kettle-producing areas were Ashiya and
a paulownia box, which bears a pressed Tenmyó. Ashiya is located at the mouth of For westerners, the tea scoop, or chashaku,
seal and signature. Sonyu seems to have the Onga River, then known as the Ashiya is perhaps the most puzzling of all tea
modeled the shapes of his bowls upon River, and it is believed that casting was utensils. This fragile sliver of bamboo with
those preferred by Rikyü. Upon examining done there in order to utilize productively its willowy curve and slender handle seems
the bottom of the bowl after drinking the the soil and iron sand. to lack the grandeur of a teabowl, nor is it
tea, as is the general rule in tea, one would Ashiya kettles are characteristically fa- the product of a lengthy and rigorous
find the graceful swirl of a whirlpool. The mous for their designs, which are etched process such as that needed to make a tea
clay walls are thick and the foot is low. in relief on the surface of the kettle's front kettle. Yet this unassuming object is per-
The rim intentionally expresses an imper- and back. Some of the typical designs in- haps the most treasured and appreciated
fect roundness that is characteristic of clude flowers and birds, horses, or moun- utensil shown here. Unlike other utensils
hand-built Raku bowls. JIK tains and water. The pattern here is a that were crafted by trained artisans, the
popular combination that weaves together tea scoop is customarily carved by the tea
287 Teakettle the motifs of pine, bamboo, and plum. All man himself. Thus these mere shavings of
iron three plants are especially resilient to the bamboo have been shaped to produce a
h. 17.5 (67/s) cold and have come auspiciously to sym- personal expression of an individual's tea.
Muromachi period bolize strength. Etched on one side of the Styles of tea scoops are meticulously ex-
Eisei Bunko, Tokyo kettle is a plum tree that is easily recog- amined and studied by later generations,
nized by its gnarled branches, which ex- as it is believed that the "flavor" of a per-
In twentieth-century Japan, a sign would tend outward to the left and right. Plum son's tea is reflected in the very bend and
be hung outside the waiting area for a blossoms lay flat against the surface, and shape of the bamboo scoop. The beauty of
large, informal tea gathering to indicate bamboo leaves and a pine tree complete a tea scoop is as simple and pristine as that
that the kettle had been put on to boil. Al- the triad. On the opposite side are pic- of the bamboo itself. Moreover, tea scoops
though a teabowl, whisk, tea container, tured bamboo leaves, bamboo sprouts, can be called by either a carefully selected
and a number of other utensils are pine needles, and cones. This relief tech- poetic name or by the maker's name. In
needed, a kettle to boil the water is consid- nique is similar to that found on the back addition to the tea scoop's "scenery" the
ered the most essential element. The tea of old Japanese metal mirrors. most important features are actually pe-
master Sen no Rikyü (1522-1591) cautioned The lower half of the kettle may have ripheral to the object itself: the name of
against over-zealous collecting of utensils. been recast. It was common practice for the maker and the accompanying tube
One of Rikyü's didactic poems from a old kettles to be repaired at the bottom. container, which is often inscribed with
hundred-poem collection reads, "With but The areas of appreciation of a kettle are the poetic name of the scoop, often taken
a single kettle one can make tea, it is fool- usually the shape, surface, lid, and lugs or from a classical poem.
ish to possess a multitude of utensils." ears. The lugs found on either side of this Yoshimura Teiji, in writing about
Prior to the ritualization of tea drink- kettle have been skillfully embellished "The Soul of Chashaku," prefers to think
ing in the fifteenth century, early kettles with the figure of a lion's head, whose of the fashioning of a tea scoop as sculp-
for boiling water were a common item in flowing mane trails down each side. The ture in bamboo. As in sculpture, the crea-
any household kitchen. In fourteenth- lion design was commonly found on the tion of an external shape is inadequate
century tocha, or tea identification con- unless the soul of its creator has been

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