The chashaku is a narrow scoop, usually bamboo, used to transfer matcha from its container to the bowl. Physically it is the slightest object in the set; in practice it carries unusual weight, because it is the utensil a host is most likely to have made personally.
Form
A scoop is cut from a single piece of bamboo with a node (*fushi*) positioned along its length — at the middle for most formal uses, nearer the end or absent altogether in other forms. The bend is set by heating. Ivory and other materials appear in particular formal contexts, but bamboo is standard.
Naming
Because scoops are often carved by tea masters and practitioners, they are frequently given a *mei* — a poetic name, written on the accompanying box, drawn from a season, a place, a line of verse, or a Buddhist term. A guest asking after the scoop's name is asking about the host's intention for the gathering, and the answer is part of the conversation rather than a label.
In the sequence
Cleaning the scoop with the silk cloth is among the first movements a student learns and among the last to be done well. The gesture is brief, entirely visible, and unforgiving of hesitation, which is why teachers return to it throughout a student's progress.
Sources
- 竹茶杓 銘 泪 / 文化遺産オンライン（文化庁）
Supports: 天正19年（1591）2月、豊臣秀吉に切腹を命じられた千利休が自ら茶杓を削り、最後の茶会に用いて古田織部に与えたと伝わる実在の茶杓（銘「泪」）があること
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
Tea ceremony descriptions can vary by school and source. Where interpretations differ, this glossary avoids definitive claims and focuses on broadly shared understandings. If you notice an error, please let us know viaContact. To learn about our organization, seeAbout Chaen.
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Related terms
- Chasen (tea whisk)chasen
A whisk cut from a single piece of bamboo, used to mix matcha with water; treated as a consumable.
- Natsume (thin-tea container)natsume
The standard lacquered container for thin tea, named after the jujube fruit it resembles.
- Chaire (thick-tea container)chaire
The ceramic jar holding matcha for thick tea; wrapped in a silk pouch and treated as the most highly ranked utensil of a gathering.
- Mei (poetic name of a utensil)mei
A name given to a tea scoop, bowl, or flower vessel, condensing the theme and season of a sitting.
- Higashi-bon (tray for dry sweets)higashi-bon
A flat tray on which dry sweets are arranged and offered with thin tea.