Vintage Japanese Tea Ceremony Natsume Summer Flowers w/ Kiri Box 2 3/4” Mizusashi The painting subject

The painting subject

aka Kunisada Tsunoda (1786 – 1865) of the Utagawa school

The Ainu people traditionally carved these Kubori Kuma for religious purposes revering the Bear as a deity

I t’s thin walls allow the tea to cool faster during the hot summer months

The lidded top section was used for the storage and use of ink stone brushes

Vintage Japanese Tea Ceremony Natsume Summer Flowers w/ Kiri Box 2 3/4” Mizusashi The painting subjectThis is a vintage Japanese chu natsume or tea caddy used in the chanoyu tea ceremony. It holds the powdered green tea called matcha. A quality natsume such as this is made of turn wood, typically hinoki or Japanese cypress. The wood is lacquered in the traditional Japanese method with over 20 coats of urushi lacquer. This particular lacquer is black and decorated in a makie gold summer flowers, this is a beautiful example of Japanese lacquer ware. The