Japanese Tea Bowls “Chawan” History of the Tea Ceremony And Examples

Japanese Tea Ceremony “Chanoyu” or “Sado” It is a choreographic ritual of preparing and serving green tea, Macha, together with some traditional sweets to balance the bitter taste of the tea.Macha Preparing tea means pouring all one's attention into the predefined movements. The whole process is not about drinking tea, but is about aesthetics, preparing a bowl of tea from one's heart. japanese-tea-ceremony.net

History of the Tea Ceremony Tea was a rare and valuable commodity from the Nara period to the Heian period ( ) due to deteriorating relations between Japan and China, so rules and formalities were based on this concept.

Myoan Eisai Japanese priest that founded Zen Buddhism He created methods of making tea that is the basis for the tea ceremony today He suggested that drinking tea had health benefits (a cure for all disorders). Partly because of this the tea ceremony became popular.

Types of Tea Ceremonies Hatsugama (first kettle in January) Akatsuki-no-chaji (dawn tea ceremony in winter) Yuuzari-no-chaji (early-evening ceremony in warmer months) Asa-cha (early-morning summer ceremony) Shoburo (first use of the portable brazier/ May)

Shougo-no-chaji (midday tea ceremony) Kuchikiri-no-chaji (ceremony celebrating the breaking of the seal on a jar of new tea/ November) Nagori-no-chaji (ceremony honoring the last remains of the year’s supply of tea and to see out the warm months before winter sets/ October) Yobanashi (winter-evening ceremony)

Tea Bowl Examples

Tadashi Nishihata

Tadashi Mori

Richard Milgrim

Joy of the Noble Teacup International Chawan Exhibition 2005

Your Requirements 2 tea bowls (1 set) in the Traditional Style The set must represent a season or style Even Pinch construction (1/4”) Must meet strict Tea Masters’ Requirements found in text on page 51 and be cleanly decorated.