Tea Ceremony Vocabulary and Tools

Tea ceremony utensils are only used for the tea ceremony and not for anything else. A more interesting fact is that the same type of tools has been used for more than 600 years, defying all the technological advancements. There is a hierarchy among the tea ceremony utensils. The tea bowl and the tea caddy are the most important ones, while the kensui (wastewater container) and the ash container (haiki) have the lowest level of importance. The high-level utensils are brought to the room first and held by two hands all the time.

Chasen: Tea whisk made from the single piece of bamboo
Chashaku: Tea scoop made from bamboo or ivory
Chawan: Decorated tea bowl. See Fun Facts for more information.
Hishaku: Ladle used to pour water made of bamboo
Kaiseki: Delicate meal sometimes eaten during a tea ceremony
Kama: Iron pot used for hot water
Matcha: Bitter green tea prepared in a powdered form
Natsume: The decorated tea jar that the green tea comes in
Shokyaku: The main guest or guest of honour at the tea ceremony
Tatami: The type of mat found in a tea house Teishu: The host of the tea ceremony

A typical tea ceremony room would have an alcove, hand-brushed scroll, seasonal flowers, incense container, folding screens, a square-shaped hearth, a half-door entrance for guests, and the fusuma style separate entrance for the host.

However, there are clear rules on how these items are displayed in the tea room and what kind of sitting order the participants follow. For instance, flowers are displayed on the left side of the scroll, and the incense container should be on the right side. The most senior person must sit closest to the alcove.