Tea ceremony glossary

Raku bowls with a soft reddish body under a clear glaze; warmer in feeling and suited to spring.

A high-summer gathering held at dawn, taking coolness itself as the theme of the occasion.

The eighth Muromachi shogun (1436–1490) who led Higashiyama culture and organised shoin tea.

A dish left with the guests while the host withdraws, creating time for the guests to talk among themselves.

The late-Tokugawa statesman (1815–1860) whose Chanoyu Ichie Shu gave ichigo ichie its lasting formulation.

The hereditary head who holds a school's transmission and the authority to license teaching.

Unglazed bowls from Iga with dramatic scorching, running bidoro glaze, and bold distortion.

Sotan's second son (1605–1676), founder of Mushakojisenke, who returned to tea after a period as a lacquerer.

The principle that every gathering is unrepeatable, and should therefore be treated as if it will never occur again.

The principle that host and guests construct the gathering jointly; a guest is not an audience.

The Zen monk (1394–1481) whose transmission to Murata Juko founded the link between Zen and tea.

The representative Korean bowl type — everyday ware reinterpreted by Japanese practitioners as an emblem of wabi.

A warrior-class school founded by Ueda Soko and maintained as the tea of the Asano house of Hiroshima.

Matcha whisked lightly to a foam and served one bowl per guest; the form of tea most people meet first.

The general category of containers for thin tea, of which the natsume is the representative form.

A school carrying Oda Urakusai's style; its tea room Joan is designated a National Treasure.

The largest of the three Sen family schools of tea, known for its work in school and overseas education and for developing table-and-chair practice.

Matsudaira Fumai's catalogue of his own collection, which fixed the modern ranking of celebrated utensils.

The monk (1141–1215) who brought tea seeds back from Song China and wrote Japan's first book on tea.

The group of Sen-lineage schools that developed in Edo from Kawakami Fuhaku's teaching, strong in urban teaching culture.