hanaire 花入 (flower container)

hanaire 花入 (flower container) , circa 1730, Edo period (1600–1868)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: crackling; raku; glaze

Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 16.51 cm
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 6 1/2 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 1928.1531

Not on display

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Label texts

Civic Leader and Art Collector: Sallie Casey Thayer and an Art Museum for KU

While the Japanese tea ceremony dates to the 10th century, it flourished under the direction and promotion of Murata Jukō (Shukō) (1423–1502), who is widely acknowledged as the founder of the chanoyu tea ceremony. His innovation of serving tea in an unpretentious, rural cottage came to embody what was called wabicha or poverty tea. The term comes from a word implying loneliness, but wabi has a positive connotation, suggesting the Zen and Daoist concept of liberation from material and emotional concerns. The beauty of wabi celebrates imperfection and irregularity and praises cracks and tears, which are evident in the tea ceramics shown here. As Jukō once observed: “The moon is not pleasing unless partly obscured by a cloud.”

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Exhibition Label:
Asian Gallery, Spring 2003, Youmi Efurd
The primary purpose of the flower container is to make the blossoms, buds, or grasses appear as if growing in the fields. The containers are carefully selected to fit both the season and the room in which they are to appear. The flower container, which is among the last utensils chosen for a ceremony, remains a challenge for the judgment of the most expert tea masters in the aesthetic interaction between living flowers and an artificial container.