Plastic Japanese powdered green tea holder (natsume or chaire) for use with tea ceremony (sado). This tea jar is less than 40 years old and in good condition with only small marks and scratches. The jar includes its original cardboard storage box. Click here to see more tea jars!
Size: Height: 2.7 inches (6.8 centimeters) Diameter (across top): 2.6 inches (6.7 centimeters) Weight: 2.3 ounces (67 grams) Click here to see more tea ceremony items! Click here to see additional treasures from Japan!
Green Tea History
The true origins of tea are lost in pre-history. However, some interesting legends do exist to explain how humanity came to acquire this culinary treasure. One Chinese story tells how a famous herbalist was preparing medicine next to a large tea plant when some leaves did fall into a pot of boiling water. Upon sampling the brew and realizing the stimulating benefits, the herbalist then added tea to his list of medicines. Another story gives credit to the Indian sage Bodhidarma (aka Daruma) who is the recognized founder of Zen Buddhism. Daruma-san is thought to have achieved enlightenment only after meditating for seven years straight without blinking or moving his eyes. At one point during his long vigil Daruma apparently became so overcome by fatigue that he tore off his eyelids and threw them to the ground. The eyelids are then thought to have sprouted into China's first green tea plants.
Buddhist priests are normally credited with introducing tea to Japan during the 6th century where it was first popular with priests trying to stay alert during long sessions of meditation. Tea was later adopted by the ruling and military classes where elaborate ceremonies for the preparation and serving of tea were developed and refined over many centuries. The Japanese tea ceremony (sadou) is today appreciated as one of the most beautiful and intriguing of the traditional Japanese arts. Tea is certainly one of the defining elements of contemporary Japanese lifestyle; important in family and social settings and providing catalyst for a wide range of art forms, from ceramic and iron ware, to bamboo craft as well as the very act of drinking. And while practitioners of the tea ceremony may spend a lifetime mastering the art of tea, Japanese from every walk of life do appreciate on a daily basis the delicious flavor and invigorating effect of this most important drink.
item code: R1S3-0005764 ship code: L1650
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