Classic Japanese Tea Ceremony Tools
These days there are many ways in which you can prepare your matcha with new tools to enable you to do so, while being continuously inventive. However, there is a wealth of history and tradition behind matcha, some of which we have covered here on this blog previously. However, here we will be zeroing in on the traditions and history behind the specific teaware and tools used to prepare matcha traditionally.
We have three main tea masters to thank for the development of the art of preparing a bowl of matcha and establishing the concepts of Chanoyu / Chado that are still followed today.
Murata Shuko
The founder of the Way Of Tea (Chado/Sado) and the tea ceremony as we know it today. He was an official tea master to the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa; he was the first person to introduce refinement, rigor, spirituality and humility into the overall preparation of tea.
Takeno Joo
Was initiated into the ceremony by disciples of Shu-ko. He practiced the tea ceremony according to the principles of the master Shuko but he then added to it and enriched it with zen simplicity. His simple and natural version of the tea ceremony was ingrained with honesty, caution and the emotional control that is a typical aspect of wabi philosophy.
Sen No Rikyu
A name you are probably familiar with even if you know very little about the history of matcha. He was a disciple of Takeno Joo from a very young age. He essentially unified the styles of both of his predecessors and he created the rules of chado and codified chanoyu which changed the ceremony into a mix of performance art and spiritual ritual. Poverty, humility, imperfection and modesty from then onwards became the criteria of chanoyu and chado.Key Teaware
Chawan/Matchawan
A Chawan or Matchawan is the bowl used to prepare the matcha in and drink the matcha out of. This is used to prepare both usucha (thin tea) and Koicha (thick tea). Even if you do not plan on learning how to conduct the full tea ceremony, it is important to have at least a chawan and a chasen to prepare your matcha traditionally. You kind find many different varieties of these bowls, some a solid calm color, others with beautiful designs on them that fit each season.
Chasen
The Chasen is a traditional tea whisk made out of a singular piece of fresh, dried or smoked bamboo that is masterfully split into many different tines by hand. These whisks vary in price and usually what sets them apart price wise is the number of tines on the whisk, with some starting as low as 25 and some having 100+. Other factors that play into the overall price is the maker (there are only 18 chasen masters left in japan carrying on the tradition), how many they make a year, how long each one takes them to hand make, how limited the source material is and where they have been produced. They are mass produced outside of Japan and these are cheaper but often lower in quality.
Chashaku
The bamboo scoop usually made out of a single piece of bamboo, this tool is used to transfer the matcha from the caddy to the chawan. It plays an important role in the tea session making sure you are scooping the perfect amount of matcha into your bowl. They usually have a nodule around the center and come in different sizes and colors depending on the tea school, traditions and also season.
Tea Caddies/Storage
Natsume/Usuchaki
A smaller tea caddy primary made of wood or lacquered wood adorned with varying designs on them that often change with the seasons. These days, cheaper options are available that are made out of plastic or resin and are just as beautiful. The sifted matcha is placed into these caddies and taken from there to the chasen using the chashaku. This kind of tea caddy is used only for tea ceremonies during which you will be preparing usucha. Ususchaki translates into thin tea vessel, though they can also be referred to using Natsume or Usuki.
Chaire
A Chaire is a ceramic tea caddy that is used to house the matcha you are going to use in the tea ceremony. You would only use this if you were specifically preparing koicha (aka thick tea). Traditionally, they had lids made of ivory and are often coated in gold at the bottom. Because the lids were so thin and would easily break, these were held in a silk bag called a shifuku to avoid breakages. Over the years, the use of ivory has become very controversial so these days the lids are also made of plastic.
Kettles & Water Utensils
The Kama
A cast iron kettle used to heat the water that is used to prepare the matcha and purify the utensils used. Traditionally they were heated with high quality charcoal that has no odor and doesn’t produce smoke, however in more recent years the use of electric elements has become much more popular especially when the use of charcoal is prohibited or impractical.
Chagama
Another kind of kettle it is much bigger in size than the Tetsubin and does not move during the tea ceremony.
Hishaku
The Hishaku is the ladle that is used to transfer water during the tea ceremony, they are usually made from two pieces of bamboo and fitted together perfectly so there is no need for nails or glue. They come in four different styles: ro (炉 - hearth/cold season), furo (風炉 - brazier/warm season), kennyo (兼用 - all season), and sashi-toshi (差し通し - pass-through). The main differences between all of them are the size of the cups.
Futaoki
Placed onto the Kama to help keep the water warm at the start of the session. The Hishaku is placed onto this until the host of the ceremony takes the first scoop of water from the Kama (kettle).
Mizusashi
The Mizusashi is a lidded container used to hold fresh water for refilling the Kama or rinsing the Chasen once it’s been used. They are usually made from ceramics of lacquered wood. Along with the Chawan and the Natsume, this is one of the main objects that dictates the aesthetic theme that has been decided upon by the host for that specific ceremony.
Kensui
Used to hold the water that will be used to purify the utensils, usually placed out of sight of the guests at the ceremony at the right hand side of the host.
Cloths
Let's take a look at the cloths.
Fukusa
A silk cloth used to purify the Chasaku and the Natsume and to hold the hot lid of the Kama kettle lid. Men will usually use a purple one and women will use a red or orange, they are block colors with no patterns. This however may change depending on the tea school and the way in which they practice the ceremony.
Chakin
A small piece of hemp or linen cloth, used by the host to purify the Chawan at the tea ceremony, it is also used to clean the Chawan once the guests have finished the bowl and it has been returned to the host. During preparation for the service, the Chakin is cleaned using water and wrung out until it is just damp enough, it is folded twice and stays moist in the Chawan with the Chasen and the Chasaku until the host is ready to begin the session. Different kinds of Chakin are used depending on if you are preparing usucha or koicha.
As previously mentioned each tea school has its own way of doing things, so some pieces mentioned in this guide may be swapped out for others, smaller pieces such as napkins for wagashi are added among other things and materials used for certain pieces may change. Don’t worry about having each and every item mentioned in this post. If you are simply preparing matcha at home, all you need to start off your journey with preparing matcha traditionally is a Chawan, Chasen and Chasaku. Once you want to start learning how to conduct the tea ceremony, even if you are only serving yourself, that is when you should start slowly adding in the other elements mentioned.