The Way of Tea has for centuries been a cornerstone of Japanese culture and aesthetic beauty. An old Japanese proverb states: "If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty."

Within the tea world there are stunning gardens, contemplative tea rooms, seasonal flowers, delicious foods, and varied tea vessels made of bamboo, lacquer, glass and most often clay. It's the latter material that is the most varied and used in the Way of Tea throughout its long history. How contemporary ceramic artists are adapting their tea wares to the present day is the theme of a most remarkable exhibition now showing at the Musee Tomo, Tokyo, and titled "The Musee Tomo Prize, Contemporary Ceramics for the Tea Ceremony: Free Creativity and Atypical Usage."

Since 2006, the Musee Tomo has held this exhibition biennially and invites selected artists to create works built around the chosen theme. This year 29 artists are showing — an impressive group of some of Japan's most celebrated and important ceramic artists, including two Living National Treasures (Sekisui Ito, designated for his Mumyoi [red-ocher clay] work, and Osamu Suzuki for Shino [glaze] work) and one 15th-generation potter from Kyoto (Raku Kichizaemon). As always, the dramatic staging of any Musee Tomoo exhibition brings the works to life as if each one were an actor on a stage.