Chashaku Tea Scoop 'Tomodsuna' — Tachibana Daiki — Daitokuji Nyoian — Japan

A tea scoop carved from pale bamboo, named 'Tomodsuna' — mooring rope — by Tachibana Daiki (1899–2005), abbot of Nyoian at Daitokuji. Daiki lived and worked for 107 years, and his inscriptions carry the density of intention that only a lifetime of practice can accumulate.

🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]
• Object: Chashaku (tea scoop) with inscribed bamboo tube and paulownia box
• Artist: Tachibana Daiki (立花大亀, 1899–2005) — Daitokuji Nyoian
• Mei (Name): Tomodsuna (ともづな / mooring rope)
• Scoop length: approx. 18.2 cm
• Tube length: approx. 21.6 cm / diameter approx. 2.6 cm
• Material: Bamboo
• Box: Paulownia wood (kiribako)
• Condition: Good
• Era: 1990s
• Origin: Kyoto, Japan (Daitokuji)

🔹 [ CULTURAL INSIGHT ]
The chashaku is among the most intimate of tea objects. It is touched at every use, carries a name chosen by its maker, and is typically presented in a tube inscribed in the calligrapher's hand. When the calligrapher is a monk of Tachibana Daiki's standing — one of the defining Zen figures of 20th-century Japan — the inscription is not decoration. It is authorship made physical. Tomodsuna: the rope that keeps a vessel from drifting. In the context of Zen practice and tea ceremony, the metaphor carries cultural weight across several registers at once.

🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE ]
Tachibana Daiki entered Daitokuji as a young monk and remained there for his entire life, eventually presiding over Nyoian until his death at 107. His calligraphy is characterized by controlled force — strokes that do not seek elegance but achieve it. The inscription on this tube reads with the same quality: assured, economical, unmistakable. The scoop itself is carved from a single piece of light bamboo, its natural curve preserved in the design. The knuckle placement and tip geometry are consistent with a skilled carver working for ceremonial use rather than display. The paulownia box completes the set with quiet formality.

_A mooring rope does not announce itself. It simply holds._

🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]
立花大亀（1899〜2005）は、大徳寺如意庵の住持を務めた禅僧・書家。107歳まで活動し続けた、20世紀を代表する宗教者のひとりです。本品は大亀自筆の書付入り竹筒に収められた茶杓で、銘は「ともづな」。船を岸につなぐ綱を意味し、禅の文脈において「繋がり」や「帰着」を示唆する銘として読むことができます。竹杓の長さ約18.2cm、筒約21.6cm。桐箱入り。状態良好。

🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials