Tanba Storage Jar For Tea with Four Lugs

This exceptional Tamba tea storage jar, crafted during Japan’s Momoyama period, exemplifies the simplicity and strength of traditional Japanese ceramics. Known as a chatsubo (tea storage jar), it is distinguished by its sturdy, coil-built construction, understated aesthetics, and the presence of four, still intact lugs on its shoulders—a unique feature that sets it apart from other storage vessels. The jar’s rustic appeal is further enhanced by a nuka glaze (nuka-yū), a rice-bran ash glaze that gives the surface a soft, organic texture, adding to the natural charm valued in the Japanese tea ceremony.

Reflecting the cultural exchange of the period, this Tamba jar exhibits stylistic features influenced by ceramics from Luzon (present-day Philippines). During the Muromachi and Momoyama periods, Japan maintained active trade with Southeast Asia, and ceramics from Luzon were imported and admired for their robust forms and earthy aesthetic. Japanese potters were inspired by these foreign ceramics, incorporating elements of their form, decoration, and glazing techniques into local traditions.

The admiration for such rustic styles was driven by prominent tea masters of the time, who found in these naturally crafted vessels an ideal embodiment of the wabi-sabi aesthetic—a principle that celebrates simplicity, imperfection, and natural beauty. A similar tea jar, the famed Chinese vessel "Chigusa," was treasured in Japan for its robust shape and unpolished surface, and today resides in the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. Our Tamba jar resonates with the same esteemed aesthetic, embodying the timeless elegance of Japanese tea culture.

This tea jar also bears a deeper cultural significance through its association with the kuchikiri ceremony, traditionally held in November to mark the opening of tea jars for the new tea year. Kuchikiri, or “cutting the mouth,” involves breaking the seal of the jar that has stored the freshly harvested tea leaves since early summer, symbolizing renewal and the celebration of the season’s first tea. The mouth of the jar is sealed with a papier-mâché lid, which is further adorned for the kuchikiri ceremony with a piece of valuable old fabric, carefully held in place with decorative tassels attached to the lugs on the jar’s shoulders. This custom highlights the vital role that such jars played in preserving the flavor and quality of tea, as well as their ceremonial importance.

A nearly identical example, showcasing the characteristic nuka glaze, is featured in Nihon no Yakimono, Vol. 8, Tanba, color plate 12 (1974), underscoring the historical and aesthetic value of this rare Tamba tea jar.

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