Single-cut (Ichijūgiri) Flower Container, “Yoshinoyama” (Mount Yoshino)

17th century

Not on view

This rustic-looking flower container, cut from timber bamboo, is the earliest dated piece in the Abbey Collection. Its maker, Sōtan, was a grandson of the revered Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591), one of the Momoyama period’s groundbreaking masters of the tea ceremony. The container’s "ichijūgiri” form—a vase with the opening on one side to enable it to be hung on a wall or post—is well suited to flower arrangements displayed for the tea ceremony, often next to or within the tokonoma alcove of a tea room. The texture and color tones of the bamboo medium remain in their natural state, and the form reflects the wabi-cha aesthetics, the style of tea ceremony associated with Sen no Rikyū, emphasizing simplicity, the use of local wares, and an absence of elaborately ornamented Chinese vessels.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

千宗旦「吉野山」一重切花入
Title: Single-cut (Ichijūgiri) Flower Container, “Yoshinoyama” (Mount Yoshino)
Artist: Sen Sōtan (Japanese, 1578–1658)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 17th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Timber bamboo
Dimensions: H. 11 7/16 in. (29 cm)
Classification: Bamboo
Credit Line: Gift of Diane Abbey, 2019
Object Number: 2019.425.32
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Sen Sōtan

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Letter of Acceptance, Sen Sōtan Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan — Letter of Acceptance
Sen Sōtan
first half 17th century

Three Eggplants and Poem, Sen Sōtan Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan — Three Eggplants and Poem
Sen Sōtan
17th century

Chashaku, named "Imogase", Sen Sōtan Japanese, Bamboo, Japan — Chashaku, named "Imogase"
Sen Sōtan
first half 17th century

Brush holder decorated with garden scene, Bamboo, China — Brush holder decorated with garden scene
China

Altar coffer, Wood (huanghuli or Dalbergia odorifera), China — Altar coffer
China
17th–18th century

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