What is a CHAIRE — the Japanese Tea Caddy?

In the quiet world of the Japanese tea ceremony the CHAIRE holds the tea itself.
It is the container for the matcha used in koicha the thick tea served at the centre of a formal gathering.

Because it holds the tea the CHAIRE is handled with particular care.
It comes to the tea room inside a silk pouch is unwrapped in front of the guests and is wiped clean before them.

Small enough to rest in one hand the CHAIRE has long been among the most closely regarded objects in the room.

The history of the CHAIRE begins with small glazed jars brought to Japan from China.

Many were not made as tea containers at all. Tea practitioners chose them selected their lids and gave them a new role. Pieces of this origin are known as KARAMONO.

By the sixteenth century the most admired CHAIRE were among the most highly valued objects in the country and are said to have changed hands for sums comparable to land.

Japanese kilns began producing their own CHAIRE with Seto as the long established centre. Takatori Zeze Agano Bizen and Karatsu later became known for them as well.

Jars arriving through Southeast Asia formed a third group called SHIMAMONO.

Today CHAIRE are made by contemporary potters and preserved as historical works alike.

Appreciating a CHAIRE begins with holding it. The weight the balance and the fit of the lid are read before anything else.

The eye then follows the glaze. Where it pools where it thins and where it runs.

The jar is turned to see the clay of the foot and the marks left by the maker.

The silk pouch is looked at separately. Many are sewn from historical imported fabrics known as MEIBUTSUGIRE.

Near the end of a gathering guests may ask to see these things closely. The CHAIRE is set low and viewed with both hands.