Tea whisks for powdered green-tea making are indispensible in the tea ceremony. On Dec. 23, a Buddhist service will be held to honor tea whisks at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple in Tokyo.
Tea whisks used in the past year will be put into a tea kettle that has been used as an incense burner and burned. Tea whisks are made of bamboo. They were refined during the Sung dynasty period in China and brought to Japan during the Heian Period.
The Urasenke, Omotesenke and Mushanokoji schools of the tea ceremony use different kinds of bamboo for tea whisks.
The Buddist service starts at 11:30 a.m. in the Daido Hall of the temple.
The Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple (1-1-1 Ikegami, Ota-ku) is about a 10-minute walk from Ikegami Station on the Tokyu Ikegami Line.