Whenever I visit art museums, I enjoy looking at chashaku (tea scoops) associated with celebrated tea masters such as Sen no Rikyu, Kobori Enshu, and Furuta Oribe.
Tea masters and craftspeople sometimes give chashaku subtle, evocative names (mei), inspired by distinctive features of the bamboo, such as its nodes, grain, small holes, or grooves.
During a visit to Shokoku-ji in Kyoto, I had the opportunity to see a bamboo chashaku attributed to Sen no Rikyu in a temple collection.
Shokoku-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple established under the patronage of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It has long been connected with the history of the Japanese tea ceremony. Oda Nobunaga once held a tea gathering at the temple, with Sen no Rikyu among the participants.
During my visit, I also heard an account of a large memorial tea gathering held after the death of a senior priest. Tea practitioners reportedly brought their own utensils, and some were said to have been presented to the temple afterward.
What impressed me most was the chashaku itself. It was small, yet elegant and dignified, with a delicate beauty. The inscriptions on its bamboo storage tube and box were also memorable.
Shokoku-ji
Imadegawa-dori, Karasuma Higashi-iru
Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-0898, Japan
