Tea ceremony glossary

A warrior-class school built on Kobori Enshu's taste, known for the refined aesthetic called kirei-sabi.

A larger, higher-ranking natsume, used at formal thin-tea sittings and where maki-e is the point.

A larger hearth used only in February, in specific Urasenke rooms, taking abundant warmth as its subject.

The sweets served with tea, divided into moist omogashi and dry higashi, and eaten before the tea arrives.

The phrase a guest says to the person beside them before taking sweets or tea ahead of them.

Fresh, moist sweets served before thick tea; the element that speaks most directly of the season.

One of the three Sen family schools, holding Rikyu's original Fushin'an site and known for a restrained, unhurried style.

Mino bowls made under Furuta Oribe's direction, with vivid copper-green glaze and deliberate distortion.

Schools carrying Furuta Oribe's invention and warrior-class arrangements, known for bold and irregular forms.

The spread of tea practice abroad, organised into branches on several continents since the mid-twentieth century.

A water jar, waste-water vessel, ladle stand, and lid rest matched in material and design; the summit of formality.

Folded paper carried by guests to receive sweets, also used to wipe the sweet pick and to take leftovers away.

A large room built for gatherings with many guests; used in contrast with the small and large tea rooms.

The plain seasonal meal served in the first half of a full gathering, whose purpose is to prepare the guest for thick tea.

Writing about a utensil by a school's head or a recognised authority; decisive for attribution and rank.

The scroll hung in the alcove; treated as the principal utensil, since it states the theme of a gathering.

A small pick used to cut and lift moist sweets; carried by the guest.

A shared bowl or dish in which moist sweets are brought to the guests.

A term of praise for the sense of clarity in a sitting — cleanliness of utensils and stillness of the air.

The daimyo tea master (1605–1673) who systematised warrior-class tea and founded Sekishu-ryu.