Introduction

In the spring of 2017, crowds clamored to the Tokyo National Museum of Art's exhibition Chanoyu – The Arts of Tea Ceremony, The Essence of Japan. Viewers beheld prized paintings and precious utensils associated with a cultural practice that rose to prominence in Japan in the sixteenth century, the ritualistic drinking of tea (chanoyu, literally ‘hot water for tea’). As 37 years had passed since Japan's largest, oldest, and most prominent museum had staged an exhibition of tea-related arts, for some visitors it was the first time in their lives to encounter an exhibition of such an exceptional scale and scope. Sponsorship came from two of the nation's main media outlets, the NHK and the Mainichi newspaper, and several of its largest companies, including Toyota Motor Corporation and Mitsui & Co. Four of the most influential Japanese schools of tea – Omotesenke, Urasenke, Mushakōjisenke, and Yabunouchi – were also involved. Of particular attraction were objects with the highest possible distinction, a title that conveys iconic status: National Treasure (kokuhō). Among these were two tea bowls, one made in Japan named Unohanagaki (image 22) and the other from Korea, Kizaemon (image 23.). How did these two unassuming, asymmetrical, cracked bowls come to be regarded as emblematic of the ‘essence of Japan’?

Initially imported from China, whipped green tea (matcha) and its consumption were present in Japan by the thirteenth century. Throughout the Muromachi period (1336-1573), Zen Buddhist monks, aristocrats, and military warlords codified how tea was consumed. Its utensils played important roles in the aesthetics of tea.