Tezumi Insights
From their elegant shapes to their captivating glazes, tenmoku have ensnared the eyes and hearts of tea lovers for a thousand years....
While Tokoname-yaki is famous for its iconic brick-red unglazed teapots, there is so much more to this ancient pottery town.
Recently, kintsugi has enjoyed an explosion in Western popularity, owing to a growing appreciation for Japanese aesthetics and a pushback against rampant...
Japanese teapots come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, materials, and types, which can be intimidating for those just setting foot...
The bowl where it all happens: the chawan (茶碗 - tea bowl) is one of tea’s most iconic utensils and exists in near endless variety. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the major ‘styles’ of chawan, exploring both historical and modern examples.
Hagi-yaki (萩焼), or Hagi ware, is a regional style of Japanese ceramics that comes from the area around the town of Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture, for which it is named. Since its development over 400 years ago, Hagi-yaki remains highly valued within the traditional aesthetics of practically all tea ceremony schools, with some of the oldest Hagi-yaki pieces declared National Treasures of Japan. Here's a look into the history and styles of Hagi-yaki.
If you’ve ever attended or watched a Japanese tea ceremony, you’ll have noticed that the matcha is kept in a small lacquered...
The chasen (茶筅-tea whisk) is perhaps the most indispensable tool when it comes to making matcha, as none of the alternatives can...
There are many unique and beautiful pieces of equipment used during a Japanese tea ceremony, each with a specific purpose and storied history. Usually called dougu (道具 - utensils/equipment) by practitioners of tea, this equipment is often used exclusively for chanoyu and as such can be confusing for those not familiar with the intricacies of tea ceremonies. Here, we’ll take a brief introductory look at some of the most important utensils and how they are used.