Minneapolis Institute of Art

Incense burner in the shape of a Chinese boy on a water buffalo

Japan

Date

19th century

Medium

Bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Tea houses and traditional Japanese houses have a built-in recessed display space called tokonoma. The tokonoma is usually decorated with a hanging scroll, flower arrangement, and small object like dolls or incense burners according to the season. For a tea ceremony, the host would consider the participants and occasion to create a special collection of objects called toriawase to commemorate the event. Toriawase includes not only the objects in the tokonoma but also extends to the utensils and implements used in the ceremony, including the tea bowl, scoop, and fresh water container. Asia

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