Japan
Kyusu and the kilns that make them, chawan, chaire, mizusashi and kensui for chanoyu, and the senchadō table
24 entries
Learn 2#
- 东亚茶器源流：日本茶道、煎茶道与韩国茶礼中的茶具演变Tea vessels in Japan and Korea: Chadō, Senchadō and DaryeTea vessels travelled between China, Japan and Korea, but each place developed its own practices. Begin with the difference between whisked and steeped tea, then follow objects, texts and local craft traditions.sources cited
- 读懂修补：锔钉、漆与器物的后来经历Reading repairs: staples, lacquer and a vessel’s later lifeLook under the lid before deciding how much of a pot’s history you can see. Two photographs of one repaired teapot reveal more than the assembled outline: the underside exposes work that the outside largely conceals. Start there, then learn to distinguish metal bridges, lacquer repairs, glaze crackle and deliberate decoration.sources cited
Shapes 11#
- 茶碗Tea bowlThe bowl in which powdered tea is whisked and drunk in the tea ceremony. Japanese sources sort bowls by origin into Chinese (唐物), Korean (高麗) and Japanese (和物), and judge them by rim, body, waist, foot and the inside. Chinese black-glazed tenmoku bowls led until the 16th century, then Korean everyday bowls such as ido and Japanese wares such as raku took their place. JAANUS gives an average of about 15 cm across and 8 cm high.sources cited
- 宝瓶Handleless teapotA small kyūsu without a handle, used mainly for gyokuro and fine sencha brewed with water cool enough to hold the pot by its body. Nipponica names any handleless kyūsu a hōhin. Sources describe a wider mouth than a usual kyūsu and, in most examples, a built-in strainer.sources cited
- 急須Japanese teapotA Japanese teapot for brewing leaf tea. The pictured side-handled form is one type; rear- and overhead-handled pots also belong to the broader category.sources cited
- 絞り出しSqueeze-out potA small, shallow, handleless brewing vessel whose lid holds back the leaves as the tea is poured out through a gap or notches at the spout. The word means 'squeezing out' and Japanese sources also use it for the pouring method itself, including on handled kyūsu without a mesh. Sources for the shape are mostly retailers.sources cited
- 湯呑みTeacupA Japanese cup for drinking tea, usually without a handle. Tall cylindrical and lower rounded forms occur in different ceramic bodies and glazes.sources cited
- 湯冷ましWater coolerA small open vessel, usually with a pouring lip, into which boiled water is poured to cool before it goes into the kyūsu. The MAFF brewing manual recommends one for gyokuro at 50-60°C and fine sencha at about 70°C, and notes that each transfer between vessels lowers the water by about 5-10°C. The same word also means boiled water that has cooled.sources cited
- 茶入Thick-tea caddyA small ceramic container for powdered tea, especially the thick tea served in Japanese chanoyu. Many have a fitted lid and a textile pouch. Shoulder, belly and mouth profiles distinguish the named forms; individual vessels also have their own histories of ownership and use.sources cited
- 土瓶Overhead-bail potA ceramic pot with an overhead bail handle attached to lugs on the shoulders. The handle may be made from a different material from the body. Dobin include vessels for tea and other preparations, so a particular example’s use should be identified rather than assumed from the handle alone.sources cited
- 巨轮珠壶JulunzhuA compact, thick-rimmed globular or slightly oblate gongfu teapot with a short, straight cannon-barrel spout ('fat tube spout'), a thick round loop handle, and a flat or slightly domed inset lid topped with a flattened bead knob. Made in Yixing zhuni/zini, Chaozhou Fengxi red clay, and post-war Nantou kilns, and exported to Japan during the late Qing and Meiji–Taishō periods where Senchadō practitioners prized its bold, unpretentious geometry.sources cited
- 建水Waste-water bowlA receptacle for water used to rinse and warm tea utensils. In Japanese chanoyu it is called kensui or koboshi. Chinese and Taiwanese tea settings also have waste-water vessels, but their names, shapes and use should be described within their own traditions.sources cited
- 水指Fresh-water jarA lidded fresh-water jar used in Japanese chanoyu. It holds water for replenishing the kettle and rinsing utensils. It is distinct from the kensui, which receives used water; materials and profiles vary widely.sources cited
Wares 11#
- 有田焼Arita warePorcelain from Arita in Saga prefecture (old Hizen province), where Japan's first porcelain was made in the early 17th century from local porcelain stone; tradition credits a Korean potter, Ri Sanpei (Kanagae Sanbei), with finding the Izumiyama stone in 1616. Shipped from the port of Imari, it was long called Imari ware, and from the 1640s–50s the Dutch East India Company carried it to Europe.draft
- 萬古焼Banko warePottery of Yokkaichi and the Kuwana area in Mie, named after the seal 萬古不易 used by its mid-Edo founder Nunami Rōzan.draft
- 備前焼Bizen wareUnglazed, unpainted stoneware from Inbe in Bizen City, Okayama, descended from Sue ware and made at Inbe since the late Heian period.draft
- 萩焼Hagi wareStoneware from Hagi and Nagato in Yamaguchi Prefecture, begun by Korean potters whom the Mōri lords brought to Japan in the context of Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea (1592–98) and settled at a domain kiln in Matsumoto, Hagi.draft
- 唐津焼Karatsu wareGlazed stoneware from the former Hizen province (western Saga and northern Nagasaki), named after the port of Karatsu through which it was shipped.draft
- 京焼・清水焼Kyō ware / Kiyomizu warePottery and porcelain made in Kyoto, designated by METI in 1977 under the joint name Kyō-yaki / Kiyomizu-yaki.draft
- 美濃焼Mino warePottery and porcelain from the Tōnō area of southern Gifu (Tajimi, Toki, Mizunami, Kani and nearby), with a history its museum puts at about 1,300 years.draft
- 樂焼Raku wareHand-built, low-fired earthenware tea bowls and other tea utensils from Kyoto, begun in the Momoyama period by the potter Chōjirō in connection with the tea master Sen no Rikyū.draft
- 瀬戸焼Seto wareCeramics of Seto, Aichi, the only one of the Six Ancient Kilns that made glazed ware in the medieval period, often copying imported Chinese wares; its tea caddies made its name.draft
- 信楽焼Shigaraki wareStoneware from Shigaraki in Kōka, Shiga, made since the Kamakura period from coarse clay of the Old Lake Biwa Formation, rich in quartz and feldspar grains.draft
- 常滑焼Tokoname wareStoneware from Tokoname and the Chita Peninsula in Aichi, made since the late Heian period, first as large coil-built jars and later also as tea and sake ware.draft