Chanoyu’s Equipments
chanoyu's set
There is a famous ceremony in Japan. It is tea ceremony which is called Chanoyu in Japanese. In this ceremony, it is showed the custom of preparing and serving Japanese tea. The tea used in this ceremony is green tea or matcha in Japanese. Of course, it needs some particular equipment to prepare and serve the tea. There are many kinds of tea ceremony equipments that are used differently based on the occasion or season. These equipments vary on their mode and design. Some of the main equipments are chawan, chasen, chashaku, chakin, and natsume.
Chawan is a kind of bowl which is used as tea container. This tea bowl is available in two types, shallow bowl and deep bowl. They have different function. Shallow bowl is used in summer and functions to make the tea cold sooner. In contrast, the deep bowl is used in winter to keep the tea hot longer. Next, chasen is a kind of whisk. It functions to mix the tea powder and water. For sure, the water that is used to the hot one. This equipment is made from a piece of bamboo. It is different to chawan which is made usually from porcelain.
The other equipment which is made from bamboo is chashaku. It is a kind of scoop or ladle. However, it is sometimes made from wood. This equipment functions to scoop or dig the tea powder from its place into the tea bowl or chawan. And the place of tea powder is called natsume. It is kind of small container with cover. Then, chakin is an equipment to clean the tea bowl (chawan). It is a kind of small linen cloth in rectangular size. Each of the equipment is maintained well. All of them are always cleaned thoroughly before they are used in the ceremony, and then after they are used, before they are stored for the next tea ceremony.
Tags: japanese tea, japanese tea ceremony, japanese tea equipments