Tea ceremony glossary

The whole side of a vessel, running from shoulder to waist; the largest determinant of its form.

The Ji-sect attendants who managed the arts for the shogunal house and codified shoin display.

The October arrangement moving the brazier to the centre of the mat, bringing the fire nearer as autumn deepens.

The interval when guests leave the room and return to the garden, dividing a full gathering in two.

A cylindrical container separating at the middle; an older form than the natsume.

The standard middle size of natsume, and the container through which the basic handling is learned.

A single long lacquered board used as a simplified daisu, carrying formal conventions in a lighter setting.

Placing flowers as they grow rather than composing them; the basic approach for tea flowers.

The October theme of taking leave of the brazier season, using utensils worn by half a year of use.

A rounded thick-tea jar swelling like an aubergine; softer in feeling than the shouldered form.

Arrangements from the rainy season through high summer — flat bowls, blue-and-white, glass, basketry — built to suggest coolness.

The standard lacquered container for thin tea, named after the jujube fruit it resembles.

A line named for the monk Nanbo Sokei, cited chiefly in connection with the Namporoku text.

The best-known text presenting Rikyu's teaching, and the one whose authorship is most seriously disputed.

A low, small doorway that obliges every guest to crouch and bow when entering the tea room.

The lidded bowl served after the first dish; the centrepiece of the meal and the sharpest test of the host's cooking.

Becoming a student of a school and beginning study; the start of the certificate sequence.

The doboshu (1397–1471) who served Yoshimasa and began the codification of shoin display and tea.

The part of a gathering where guests take up and look closely at the utensils, and ask the host about them.

A small scoop for shaping the ash in the brazier or hearth.