Activity
Samurai: Design Your Own Symbol
The imagery on a samurai’s armor expresses that samurai’s identity and source of inspiration or empowerment. Is there an image you connect with most?
For a tea gathering in Japan, the host chooses utensils to reflect the season, complement and contrast with each other, and, ideally, create a theme or context that the host and guest will explore together during the course of the tea gathering. One of the key utensils is the tea kettle, in which the host boils the water.
An example of a traditional Japanese teapot in the Asian Art Museum’s collection is the Hexagonal kettle (kama) with design of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. In this activity, decorate a piece of paper to reflect the season and create an origami teapot. You can learn more about Japanese tea gatherings by exploring the Education Resource Portal.