Chanoyu’s core philosophy is centered around entertaining one’s guest, which is why one often hears that “Japanese hospitality began with the art of tea ceremony.” So, just what kind of “hospitality” did the Edo Period shōgun and other nobility experience when visiting places like Nagoya Castle and the Sarumen tea room?
The Tokugawa Art Museum allows a glimpse into the history of tea by showcasing the ancestral utensils actually used by the House Tokugawa of Owari and other relics that can’t be seen in Nagoya Castle or the Sarumen tea house replica.
The Sarumen tea room is a bit small by modern standards, being only a little wider than four tatami mats. The design on the top of the right-side alcove post is the “monkey face” that is the tea room’s namesake.
This small, austere space is where hosts showcased their skills. Besides teacups, Chanoyu tools include a thick container for steeping the matcha, a bamboo spoon for scooping out the tea, and a “mizusashi,” a porcelain container containing water for rinsing out the teacups and spoon. You could probably say that hosts served as museum curators of sorts, gathering different tools from season to season with the aim of pleasing their guests.
Each utensil varies in shape, material, color, craftsperson, manufacturing region, and even in social rank. Many of them are specialty products and are suitably expensive. There was a time when one could tell a samurai’s rank by how many tea utensils he owned. Much like owning a Van Gogh or Picasso, valuable treasures increased a person’s prestige. Imagine a military commander in the middle of the Warring States period looking at a tea cup and thinking “What a lovely tea cup -- I should like to have one!”
The utensils on display at the Tokugawa Art Museum are heirlooms of the Tokugawa family of old, and as such many of them are finely crafted. One wonders at the guests who were served at Nagoya Castle with such exquisite materials. It’s fun to imagine how historical legends like Sen-no-Rikyu, Nobunaga Oda, and Iemitsu Tokugawa used them, or even how you might use them and what you would serve. If you aspire to host a ceremony yourself, why not take a close look at these historical utensils?
