An antique iron tea kettle known as gama or kama in Japanese. The tea kettle is used for chanoyu and depending on the season a ro, or a cut out hearth set in the floor, or a furo a brazier used to hold the kettle is used. Various designs of kettles were developed as the way of tea evolved over the centuries.

A poem set in a shikishi like square motif reads that the mountains in the autumn sunset are slowly changing into that color...

Ohi Toshio (1958-) Born as the son of the noted family, Ohi Chozaemon in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture. The Ohi family for generations have produced traditional Japanese tea ceramics in the preferences of tea masters from the Urasenke tradition and the lords that controlled the domain of Kaga...

Incense container in the form of a wooden block with various facets and expressions of the wood that can be seen from different angles. Work is made by an artist named Kissen. Typically natural wood incense containers tend to use wood from noted ancient buildings when buildings are being restored. Most of the wood used in the building might not be suitable to be re-used for the building and various objects such as incense containers, tea scoops, frames for the ro or hearth, hibachis, etc...

Height: 9" diameter 4.75"...

A large size tsutsu chawan or a tea bowl specifically used during the winter season...

Circular with a square mouth and two ears to decorate this Hagi vase. The Sakata Deika kilns have been in operation since the 18th century and the name Deika was first used by the 13th head of the Sakata family. This vase contains the seal on the bottom reading Deika and would date to either the period of the 13th Sakata head or the 14th (more leaning to the 13th).

No significant damages are seen on the ware, much aging and soiling on the detail work of the piece...

Beautiful and simple tamenuri waributa natsume or a tea container. This distinct natsume is often used during a temae that requires the natsume. The natsume is done in a tamenuri style, where the dark brown-maroon like color and the clarity of the lacquer shows the grains of the wood...

A fine lustrous black raku nodate tea bowl. The nodate bowl is used during not just for the nodate temae, but also used in arranging a chakago or a bamboo basket to take tea utensils out during a day in the great outdoors.

The black raku is the product of Sen no Rikyu and a roof tile producer, Chojiro...

Saiho tanshou ni mau, The Phoenix dances in the vibrant dawn. An auspicious scroll that is worthy for a celebratory gathering. The phrase is based on a zen text that expounds the merits of the Buddha and his deeds.

The calligraphy was done by Hosoai Katsudo (1919-1985), abbot of Ryogon-in, a sub-temple of the Daitokuji complex...

A Kenzan like inspired square plate used to serve sweets during a tea gathering. Ogata Kenzan who along with his brother Ogata Korin used the stylized motifs for their ceramic works and their designs were continued to be used even to this day.

The work comes from the Hironaga Kiln in Kyoto.

Age: late 20th century...

The basic tea bowl that the founder of the way of tea, Sen no Rikyu developed. Although various accounts remain that Rikyu produced the black and red raku tea bowls, these bowls appeared from the budding aesthetic of Wabi Sabi during a time when opulence and elaborate designs were popular and favored.

The bowl was produced by the current Sasaki Shoraku who has his kilns in Kyoto and Kameoka...

The hoso mizusashi is used when the furo is in the Nakaoki position, where the slender shaped mizusashi is placed on the left instead of the usual right hand section of the furo. The mizusashi will depend on when it is used during the season and which temae one will be doing for the gathering.

The hoso mizusashi is made by the third Morioka Kasho, who runs the Kasho-gama kiln in Kyoto...

Energetic as the man himself, the shikishi (a paper board used to create paintings or calligraphy) is the work of the 15th Sen Soshitsu, Hounsai Daisosho (1923~). Daisosho, Sen Genshitsu has captivated people with his philosophy...

The unusual large mouth of this mizusashi is described in Japanese as oshaberiguchi or a talkative mouth. One does not find much conversation during a tea gathering, yet a tea gathering is also a way to socialize and chat with others to get to know people and enjoy a bowl of tea.

The work is by the noted artist, Sadamitsu Sugimoto (1935~). Sugimoto's works are in noted collections of Japanese art such as the Clark Center of Japanese Art and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Sugimoto centers h...

A tea bowl can be expressed as seeing the universe within the bowl, relating to the zen philosophy of seeing the vastness of space within the smallest spaces. This tea bowl has appearances similar to iga wares or in a very abstract way the influences of tenmoku wares.

The bowl was produced by an artist 30 or so years ago but is not known who. The individual may have been an amateur or a hidden artist wanting people to enjoy the expressions found in the bowl.

Size: diameter 4.4" Height 3....