Presented by Takimoto-bō, Meibutsu of Hachiman
Tea Scoop
The scoop is exceptionally thinly crafted with a gentle form. Slightly above the grain, from just below the grain to the stop cut, it displays a shaved grain pattern.
Case
A true case with chamfered edges. Features Enshū’s own handwriting: Front: “〆 Takimoto-bō Tamayo Sōhō” Back: “Early spring’s first dewdrops, today’s jewels, trembling as I take them in hand” Written in two lines, concluding with “Tamayo” on the front.
Accessories
Inner box: Paulownia, unfinished wood. Inscription by Shokado Shojo: “Kobori Enshu Tea Scoop, Tamao.”
Outer box: Paulownia, unfinished wood. Inscription by Masayoshi Sohchu: “Tamao, Genuine Work by Sohfu the Layman.”
Inside lid: Inscription by the same hand: “Originally owned by Takimoto-bo, Second-Class Hachiman Meibutsu.”
Postscript
The above poem is from the Man’yōshū, Volume 20, composed by Ōtomo no Yakamochi. On the third day of the New Year, the day of the first child, when presenting a jeweled broom beneath the eastern pavilion of the imperial palace, he composed: Hajiharu no hatoyami no kabunotamahabaki te Ni to naru kara ni yuraku tamanoo
The jeweled broom is a broom adorned with glass beads used to sweep the broom chamber during New Year’s. Each time it is used, the beads chime. An imperial example is preserved in the Shōsōin Repository.
Recorded in
Takimoto-bō Meibutsu-ki (Enshū Tea Scoop, Inscription: Tamago) / Three Hundred Selected Tea Scoops
Dimensions
Tea Scoop
Length: 17.6 cm
Width: 0.6–1.0 cm
Thickness: 0.35 cm
Handle
Length: 22.1 cm
Diameter: 2.1–2.4 cm
