Karamono torai refers to the arrival of Chinese tea utensils in Japan, the historical process underlying the Higashiyama taste for imported objects. Imports continuing from the Kamakura period reached their height in the Muromachi period.
Routes
Chinese tea utensils entered Japan through various channels — Zen monks, missions to Ming China, and pirate trade. Tenmoku bowls, yohen and kensan wares, and Chinese tea jars formed the core of the Higashiyama utensil system.
Legacy
Imported utensils survive as the highest class of celebrated objects and are referred to at the most formal gatherings. The category names — karamono tenmoku, karamono chaire — still carry the assumption that Chinese origin confers rank, which is precisely the assumption wabi tea set out to unsettle.
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