Tea caddy, imo-no-ko type, named Murasame

Object Details

• Description

  Seto imo-no-ko-shaped tea caddy with ivory lid and lacquered storage box.

• Inscriptions

  The caddy's storage box that bears verse applied in lacquer is reputed to have been made by Kobori Gonjuro, the third son of noted warrior and tea master Kobori Enshu (1579 - 1647). The name "Murasame" ("passing rain showers") is from a famous poem by Jakuren (d. 1202) that appeared in the Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Famous Poems Anthology). It reads as follows:

  むらさめの Murasame no

  露もまだひぬ Tsuyu mo mada hinu

  まきの葉に Maki no ha ni

  霧立ちのぼる Kiri tachinoboru

  秋の夕暮 Aki no yugure

  秋の夕暮 Aki no yugure

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Origin

  Seto, Aichi prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Gregory Kinsey, Kinsey Chanoyu Collection, in memory of Iwamoto Mieko Soshi, long-time Chanoyu practitioner and teacher, Tokyo, Japan.

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1600s, 1560s

• Place

  Aichi prefecture, Japan, Seto

• Topic

  Art, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), The Kinsey Chanoyu Collection, Stoneware, Japanese Art, Lacquer, Tea ceremony, Ceramics, Seto ware

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)