CHAIRE -Japanese Tea Caddy

A CHAIRE is a small lidded jar, usually ceramic, used to hold powdered green tea in the Japanese tea ceremony.
It is generally used for koicha, the thick tea, and is handled with particular care because it holds the tea itself.

A CHAIRE is usually ceramic and is generally used for thick tea. A NATSUME is a lacquered container generally used for thin tea.
A CHAIRE also has a separate fitted lid and its own silk pouch, called shifuku. Practice varies between schools.

KATATSUKI has defined shoulders and a straighter line. BUNRIN is rounded, named after the apple. NASU is fuller at the base, named after the eggplant.
There is no rule to follow. Most people choose by how the jar sits in the hand, and by how it looks beside the bowls they already own.

Yes. Many are kept simply as objects, where the glaze and the proportion do the work.
If you use one for something other than tea, keep it dry, and remember that the lid and the pouch are part of the piece.

The shifuku is a silk pouch sewn for the individual jar. It protects the CHAIRE and is looked at as part of the work.
Many are made from historical imported fabrics known as meibutsugire. Some pieces have more than one, changed with the occasion.

The body is usually stoneware, finished in iron glazes that gather and run. A single stream of glaze down the side, known as nadare, is often the feature by which a piece is remembered.
The lid is traditionally ivory with gold leaf applied to the underside. Other materials are also used today.

Empty the jar after use and wipe it with a soft dry cloth. Washing is generally avoided, in part because the lid and the pouch do not take moisture well.
Keep the jar, the lid and the pouch together, out of direct sunlight.

It can, though it asks more of the recipient than most tea utensils. A CHAIRE belongs to koicha, and it comes with a pouch and a box to look after.
For someone who already keeps tea, it is a considered choice. Many pieces come with a signed paulownia box.