ami: net bag (made for a tea-leaf storage jar)
bokuseki: calligraphies by Chan/Zen monks
cha:tea
chaire: small ceramic jar for powdered tea
chakaiki: tea diary
chanoyu: Japanese practice centered on drinking powdered green tea and appreciating the objects used therein
chanoyu nikki: tea diary
chatsubo: tea-leaf storage jar
chawan: tea bowl
chio: lug cords (made for a tea-leaf storage jar)
dōbōshū: curatorial advisor
fukuro: pouch for a tea utensil, especially a container for powdered tea
fukuroshi: pouch maker, a specialized artisan associated with chanoyu
gyō: semiformal style; term employed in calligraphy and applied to levels of formality in chanoyu-related practices; see shin, sō
haikenki: viewing records
haikatsugi tenmoku: type of tenmoku tea bowl made at the Chayang kilns in Fujian Province; haikatsugimeans “ash covered,” which refers to the color and texture of the glaze
hoguchi marks: the brightening in the glaze color caused by flames hitting the shoulder during firing; term of tea jar connoisseurship
kaō: cipher
karamono: object imported from China
kin: unit of measurement, approximately 600 grams
kiseikō: “yellow seikō,” type of tea jar named for its glaze color; see qingxiang
koicha: thick tea; see usucha.
koro: term of tea jar connoisseurship that means size
kuchikiri or kuchikiri chaji: formal occasion for opening the sealed jar and serving the new tea
kuchioi: mouth cover (made for a tea-leaf storage jar)
kuchio: cord for securing mouth cover
matcha: powdered green tea, prepared for drinking by whisking with hot water in a tea bowl
matsubo: “true jar”; term that distinguishes Chinese tea jars from Japanese products
meibutsu: “celebrated object”
meibutsugire: “celebrated textiles” imported from China
meibutsuki: “records of celebrated objects”
mon: unit of currency
Mushanokōji Senke: one of three Sen family lineages of chanoyu
nadare: drips or flows of glaze; term of tea jar connoisseurship
nagao: long cord (made for a tea-leaf storage jar)
nanban: term describing the origins of an object made in Southeast Asia and imported into Japan
nari: term of tea jar connoisseurship that means shape
ōmeibutsu: “great meibutsu”; refers specifically to an object singled out by the mid-sixteenth century
Omotesenke: one of three Sen family lineages of chanoyu
ōtsubo: large jar
qingquan (Chinese): mark on jar indicating “clear and perfect” (Japanese: seizen)
qingxiang (Chinese): mark on jar indicating “clear and fragrant” (Japanese: seikō)
Raku: family workshop in Kyoto that has produced low-fired, lead-glazed ceramics from the sixteenth century to the present day
renga: linked verse
rengeō: “lotus king” mark on jar; used in Japan as the name for a type of jar
rokurome: horizontal grooves created by turning on the potter’s wheel; term of tea jar connoisseurship
Ruson (Luson) tsubo: narrowly designates Chinese jars taken to Japan from the Philippines in the 1590s but came to be used for all Chinese tea jars
seikō: “pure fragrance”; an inscription often stamped on Chinese jars; used in Japan as the name for a type of jar
Senke jisshoku: group of ten specialized artisan families associated with the three Sen lineages of chanoyu
shifuku: custom-tailored drawstring pouch for a tea utensil, especially a container for powdered tea
shimofukura: “swollen lower body”; term of tea jar connoisseurship
shin: formal style; see gyō, sō
shō (祥): auspicious graph present on base of Chigusa
sō: informal style; see gyō, shin
tencha: dry, unrolled green tea leaves; raw material for matcha
tenmoku: type of dark-glazed tea bowl made at the Jian kilns in Fujian Province; see haikatsugi tenmoku
toko or tokonoma: alcove in tearoom for the display of objects
Tomita kinran: name given in Japan to a Chinese textile of a particular pattern in a gold-brocaded weave structure (kinran)
torio: securing cord (made for a tea-leaf storage jar)
tōyama: “distant mountains”; term of tea jar connoisseurship coined in Japan to describe incised undulating pattern on large jars
tsubo: jar
uchiai: overlapping glaze effect; term of tea jar connoisseurship
Uji: famous tea-producing area south of Kyoto
Urasenke: one of three Sen family lineages of chanoyu
usucha: thin tea; see koicha
uzurame: “quail-eye” pattern in Chigusa’s glaze; term of tea jar connoisseurship
yōsu: overall appearance of an object; term of tea jar connoisseurship
Introduction | Images | 16th Century Textual References | Glossary