Tomobako, Tea Caddy Box, Lid

A wooden lid that is a part of the tomobako, which is designed to contain and protect natsume from any damage. The natsume served a critical role during the tea ceremony as the carrier of the actual tea powder and as one of the defining art pieces along with the other utensils chosen. Because of this important role, lids like these were fastened securely to the tomobako with a ribbon for extra protection.

A. L. Sadler. 2019. Japanese Tea Ceremony : Cha-No-Yu and the Zen Art of Mindfulness. La Vergne: Tuttle Publishing. https://research-ebsco-com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=9275df13-6086-3570-abc6-2ea1e9a64c9f.

Chiba, Kaeko. The Japanese Tea Ceremony : An Introduction. Abingdon, Oxon, England; Routledge, 2023.

Fujioka, Ryōichi, and Louise Allison Cort. Tea Ceremony Utensils. First edition. New York; Weatherhill/Shibundo, 1973.

Kishida, Moé. “Craftsmanship and Evolution of the Japanese Tea Caddy.” Yunomi.life, July 29, 2023.
https://yunomi.life/blogs/ocha/storing-your-tea-and-traditional-japanese-craftsmanship-chazutsu.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed October 20th, 2024.
https://www.metmuseum.org/search-results?q=Natsume&searchFacet=Art.

Murase, Miyeko, Mutsuko Amemiya, 実恵子(1924-) 村瀬, 順一(1941-) 竹内, and Metropolitan
Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). 2003. Turning Point : Oribe and the Arts of Sixteenth-Century Japan. New York, New Haven: Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Yale University Press.

“Natsume, Tea Caddy, Search the Collection, Spurlock Museum, U of I,” n.d.
https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/collections/search-collection/details.php?a=2015.09.0001A.

“Search.” National Museum of Asian Art, April 6, 2023. https://asia.si.edu/search/.Tea, Tezumi.
“What Makes a Bowl a Chawan?” Tezumi, May 16, 2024. https://www.tezumi.com/blogs/tezumi-insights/what-makes-a-bowl-a-chawan?srsltid=AfmBOorqw8j65IRLTyThYw_bIYgP-k8WToUTXYk_Cwucu4k2Fink_g6c.