Daitoku-ji Chashaku Tea Scoop Susudake Bamboo Jurojin Keizan Zen Monk

A susudake chashaku shaped by Zen intention — inscribed "Jurōjin" (God of Longevity) by Mieno Keizan (与雲), a Zen Buddhist monk of Daitoku-ji Hōshun-in in Kyoto. This smoked bamboo tea scoop carries the deep amber-brown patina of aged susudake, each tone a record of smoke and stillness. The slender curved form rests with quiet gravity, a tool refined beyond function into presence.

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🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]
• Chashaku (茶杓) — tea scoop for matcha preparation
• Material: Susudake (smoked bamboo) with natural aged patina
• Includes bamboo tsutsu (tube case) with calligraphic inscription
• Inscription: 寿老人 (Jurōjin — God of Longevity)
• Signed by: 荊山 (Keizan)
• Approximate length: 18cm (standard chashaku size)
• Condition: Good vintage condition consistent with age
• SKU: 260227_a_2099

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🔹 [ CULTURAL INSIGHT ]
The chashaku occupies a singular place among tea utensils — it is the only implement traditionally carved by the tea host themselves, or bestowed by a Zen teacher with a poetic name (銘 mei). This piece bears the mei "Jurōjin," invoking the Taoist deity of longevity, one of the Seven Lucky Gods (七福神). The name was brushed by Mieno Keizan (与雲/Uun), a Zen monk at Hōshun-in, a sub-temple within the Daitoku-ji complex that has shaped the spiritual foundations of chanoyu since the time of Sen no Rikyū.

Hōshun-in was established in 1608 by the wife of Maeda Toshiie, linking this temple to the cultural patronage of the Kaga domain. When a Zen monk inscribes a chashaku, the act is not decoration — it is transmission. The name becomes a vessel for contemplation, carried into each gathering where the scoop meets powdered tea.

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🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE: SUSUDAKE & AUTHORSHIP ]
Susudake — literally "soot bamboo" — refers to bamboo that has spent decades, sometimes centuries, suspended in the rafters of farmhouses with irori (open hearths). The smoke darkens the surface unevenly, producing tones from honey amber to deep umber that no artificial process can replicate. Each piece of susudake carries its own biography of fire and time.

The gentle curve of this chashaku, its thinness at the tip, and the restrained proportioning speak to a carver who understood that a tea scoop must feel inevitable in the hand — neither asserting itself nor disappearing. Paired with the Jurōjin inscription, this piece bridges the material (bamboo, smoke, time) and the immaterial (longevity, blessing, Zen quietude).

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🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]
大徳寺芳春院・三重野荊山（与雲）師による書付茶杓「寿老人」。煤竹の深い飴色が静かな時の厚みを伝えます。芳春院は前田利家正室まつにより慶長十三年に創建された大徳寺塔頭。禅僧が茶杓に銘を授ける行為は、茶の湯における精神の伝承そのものです。七福神の一柱・寿老人の銘が、一服の茶に長寿と安寧の祈りを添えます。

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