Special Exhibit
Tea Scoop, named Namida (Tears)

Carved by Sen no Rikyū (1522-1591)
Momoyama period, 16th century


Sen no Rikyū carved this bamboo tea scoop and used it in his last tea gathering in 1591, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered him to commit ritual suicide. Rikyū gave this tea scoop to his disciple, Furuta Oribe (1544-1615), who then carved a cylindrical container with a small rectangular hole to store his teacher's keepsake. The cylinder containing the tea scoop purportedly served as Rikyū's memorial tablet.