Way of Tea » dogu

Tea Ceremony Desktop Wallpaper : Tana with Natsume and Hishaku

Blake Harvey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:47:46 +0000

Here is a photograph I took of the tea utensils after the Tea Ceremony at Anderson Gardens last month. The natsume (tea caddy where the matcha is kept) is particularly interesting. Usually the design and artwork are much more understated than the bright geometric patterns on this natsume. Click the link or image below to download a desktop wallpaper version.

Click here to download 1920 x 1200px wallpaper →

Blake ( -_-)_υ

Beautiful Tea Ceremony Photos

Blake Harvey — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:30:21 +0000

I came across a gorgeous set of tea ceremony photos on Ajpscs’s photostream the other day. The majority of the photos are close up images of various chawans (tea bowls) and wagashi (tea sweets) held by graceful hands with rich, vibrant kimonos patterns filling in the backgrounds.

Click here to view a slideshow of all the tea ceremony photos.

Contemporary ceramics update the tea ceremony

Blake Harvey — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:42:53 +0000

Within the tea world there are stunning gardens, contemplative tea rooms, seasonal flowers, delicious foods, and varied tea vessels made of bamboo, lacquer, glass and most often clay. It’s the latter material that is the most varied and used in the Way of Tea throughout its long history. How contemporary ceramic artists are adapting their tea wares to the present day is the theme of a remarkable exhibition now showing at the Musee Tomo, Tokyo, and titled “The Musee Tomo Prize, Contemporary Ceramics for the Tea Ceremony: Free Creativity and Atypical Usage.”

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Artisans hand down tea-whisk tradition

Blake Harvey — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:36:11 +0000

This year marks the 1,300th anniversary of the relocation of the capital to present-day Nara, then called Heijokyo. And while tourists may flock to anniversary events, temples and shrines renovated for the occasion and to special public viewings of Buddhist statues and treasures, Nara has another treasure to be proud of. It is Takayama chasen, tea whisks used in traditional tea ceremonies. Read full article

Float Matcha Tea Bowl

Blake Harvey — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:55:46 +0000

MOLO Design in Vancouver has created a modern glass version of the Japanese chawan. The bowl was designed with dimensions and proportions fitting to matcha. While you wouldn’t find someone using this in an actual tea ceremony, the bowl’s amazing presentation of the whisked green tea is quite beautiful. The bowl can be purchased online here Visit MOLO Design’s float glassware page

Freer Gallery of Art Acquires Renowned Object of Japanese Tea Culture

Blake Harvey — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:59:25 +0000

Tea-leaf Storage Jar, named Chigusa, Southern China, Southern Song or Yuan dynasty 13th-14th century, Stoneware with iron glaze, H: 41.8 cm., Freer Gallery of Art.

WASHINGTON, DC.- A humble jar widely revered as an icon of Japanese tea culture has been acquired by the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art. The jar was purchased at an auction held by Christie’s in New York City Sept. 17. The jar, made in China during the late Southern Song or Yuan dynasty (13th or 14th century) and shipped to Japan as a container for a commercial product, developed a distinguished pedigree in the hands of influential tea connoisseurs, collectors and rulers who used it for storing precious tea and displayed it in their tearooms between the 15th and 20th centuries. “This handsome jar has been admired and sought after by Japanese tea masters for half a millennium,” said James Ulak, deputy director of the Freer and Arthur M. Sackler galleries. “As the documentation shows, its surface has been admired and caressed by a who’s who of Japan’s cultural giants from the 15th century forward. It is extremely rare to find such a storied work on the market.” Read the full article here.